ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agricultural Support Sector

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of the delay to single farm payments on the farm machinery business; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: UK tractor registrations, a broad indicator of the strength of the domestic market for agricultural equipment, have increased marginally in the first half of 2006. However, individual businesses may, to varying effects, have been affected in the short term by the cash flow issues faced by farmers as a result of the timing of payments under the 2005 single payment scheme (SPS).

Animal Freight

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were employed by his Department to carry out on-road inspections of transporters carrying vertebrate animals in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold the information requested. Roadside checks are arranged by local authorities, to check compliance with a range of animal health and welfare rules. The state veterinary service liaises with local authorities so that emergency veterinary cover can be made available if needed.

Animal Health Strategy

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding the Government incorporates into its animal health strategy for the rescue and care of abandoned, wounded and homeless animals.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 July 2006
	While the Government applaud the fine work undertaken by animal welfare charities in rescuing and caring for abandoned, wounded and homeless animals, we do not use public money to directly fund such work. However, we do have policies in place to increase the value of charitable gifts by generous tax concessions.

Aarhus Convention

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to inform the public of their rights under the Aarhus Convention.

Ian Pearson: The Government recognise that the Aarhus Convention is an important statement, at international level, of the rights of the public to be involved in decisions which have significant environmental effects. The UK's ratification of the convention, in February 2005, demonstrates our commitment to the importance of these principles. A comprehensive guide can be found on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/aarhus/index.htm
	In addition, DEFRA's environmental information unit (EIU) provides advice on the convention and the Environmental Information Regulations. The EIU has produced leaflets and posters publicising peoples' rights to access environmental information and provides detailed guidance on the DEFRA website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/opengov/eir/index. htm This also links to the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs), the code of practice and the Aarhus Convention.
	The code of practice, (which was laid in Parliament in February 2005) and guidance have been revised to take responses to a public consultation into account.
	Additionally, the unit offers support to Government Departments and public authorities on EIRs. This support includes workshops to discuss how they can raise awareness within their authorities and provides an opportunity to share good practice. In 2003-04, the Government's sustainable development unit worked with the Department for Constitutional Affairs supporting the freedom of information (FOI) roadshows programme and gave talks to public authorities around the country explaining how to handle FOI and EIR requests.

Biomass Energy Crops

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are in place to remove barriers to the market development of biomass energy crops; and what further measures are planned.

Ian Pearson: The Government provide support to help establish and develop supply chains, and create markets for biomass energy crops. The Government set up a Biomass Task Force in 2004 to identify the barriers to developing biomass energy and to recommend ways to overcome the problems.
	The Government's response to the taskforce report was published in April 2006 and sets out 12 key initiatives and over 60 associated actions to help realise optimum use of biomass as a resource. These measures include a capital grant scheme for biomass boilers, the establishment of a new Biomass Energy Centre to provide expert information and advice, further grant support for biomass supply chains, and a commitment to consider using biomass in the Government estate. We also intend to publish a UK Biomass Strategy in the coming year.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been brought by each local authority in England under section 3 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 since the Act came into force.

Ben Bradshaw: Measures contained in section 3 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, which concern exposing vehicles for sale on the road, commenced in June 2005.
	Figures relating to the number of prosecutions brought under this section will not be available until autumn this year.

Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received regarding the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has received a range of representations on the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, in the form of letters, emails and parliamentary questions.

Commercial Kitchens

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what research his Department has conducted into  (a) carbon emissions from commercial kitchens and  (b) means to reduce such emissions;
	(2)  what plans his Department has to encourage the use of technology to reduce carbon emissions from commercial kitchens.

Ian Pearson: The information available on carbon emissions from commercial kitchens is currently very limited.
	Two scoping studies have been carried out for DEFRA which indicate that carbon emissions from non-domestic cooking equipment are somewhere between 2.2 million and 6 million tonnes of carbon per annum. Further work is being carried out by the Government's Market Transformation Programme (MTP) to refine these estimates. The MTP estimates that the refrigeration equipment used in commercial kitchens produces a further 1.4 million tonnes of carbon per annum.
	The Government are working with industry, through the Carbon Trust and the MTP, to reduce these emissions. For example, the Hotel and Catering International Management Association manages a programme on behalf of the Carbon Trust which offers free energy saving advice to the sector.
	We are also working to encourage manufacturers to improve the efficiency of their goods by developing agreed test methodologies, performance standards and benchmarks which will enable the relative energy efficiency of these appliances to be measured. This process is complete for commercial refrigeration equipment but is at an early stage for commercial ovens.
	If all existing catering equipment were replaced by best practice(1 )equipment, we estimate that carbon emissions from commercial kitchens could be reduced by 18 per cent. Substantial additional carbon savings can be made through management and behavioural measures.
	(1) The top 10 per cent. of equipment, currently on the market, in terms of energy efficiency.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list in date order  (a) Green and  (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005.

Barry Gardiner: The following Command ("Green" and "White") Papers have been produced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, since October 2005.
	
		
			  Paper number  Title  Publication date 
			 6692 Autumn Performance Report 21 December 2005 
			 6764 UK Climate Change Programme 2006 28 March 2006 
			 6845 UK Government Response to Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 25th Report: Turning the Tide—Addressing the Impact of Fisheries on the Marine Environment 24 May 2006 
			 6827 Departmental Report 25 May 2006

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will list the Unnumbered Command Papers produced by his Department in each Session since 1976; by what means  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: Documents which are laid before Parliament as unnumbered Command Papers are generally restricted to explanatory notes to treaties, explanatory memorandums to statutory instruments and some Treasury minutes. All other documents are published in the Numbered Command Papers series.
	A complete list of unnumbered Command Papers can only be produced at disproportionate cost.
	Copies of all unnumbered Command Papers are made available via the Vote Office.

Environment Agency

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps the Environment Agency takes to ensure that its charging policy is fair and equitable across its user groups.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency complies with Her Majesty's Treasury's "Fees and Charges Guide", applies the polluter (or beneficiary) should pay principle, attributes relevant costs to specific charging regimes, and recovers those costs through charges.
	The Agency also takes account of guidance set out in the DEFRA Charging Handbook, which states that policy makers should be sensitive to the burden upon payers (and particular segments) and that this should be done though developing a Regulatory Impact Assessment on the proposed change in charge if it imposes a real increase in burden. In accordance with good Government practice the Agency routinely seeks the views of stakeholders, customer groups and individual charge payers on proposals for changes.

Environmental Directives

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which environmental directives have been agreed and published since May 1997; and what the date or expected date of transposition is of each.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA was formed in June 2001. Between 8 June 2001 and 30 June 2006, 30 EU environmental directives, for which the Department has responsibility for implementation, were adopted. These are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Directive number  Directive name  Transposition deadline  Date UK transposition completed/or expected to be completed 
			 2001/080/EC Limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants 27 November 2002 9 September 2003 
			 2001/081/EC National emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants 1 March 2002 13 March 2003 
			 2001/091/EC Restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (hexachloroethane) 31 December 2002 30 June 2003 
			 2002/003/EC Relating to ozone in ambient air 9 September 2003 26 February 2004 
			 2002/031/EC Energy labelling of household air conditioners 1 January 2003 14 March 2003 
			 2002/040/EC Commission Directive 2002/040/EC implementing Council Directive 92/75/EEC with regard to energy labelling of household electric ovens 31 December 2002 14 March 2003 
			 2002/045/EC Relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (short-chain chlorinated paraffins) 6 July 2003 23 December 2003 
			 2002/049/EC Assessment and management of environmental noise 18 July 2004 October 2006 
			 2002/062/EC Adapting to technical progress for the ninth time Annex I to Council Directive 76/769/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States on marketing and use of (organostannic compounds) 31 October 2002 14 March 2003 
			 2003/002/EC Relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of arsenic 30 June 2003 23 December 2003 
			 2003/004/EC On public access to environmental information and repealing 90/31 3/EEC 14 February 2005 04 January 2006 
			 2003/011/EC Relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations (pentabromodiphenyl ether octabromodiphenyl ether) 15 February 2004 22 March 2004 
			 2003/035/EC Providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment 25 June 2005 October 2007 
			 2003/066/EC Energy labelling of household electric refrigerators, freezers and their combinations 30 June 2004 1 July 2004 
			 2003/087/EC Establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community 31 December 2003 23 December 2004 
			 2004/008/EC On the promotion of cogeneration based on a useful heat demand in the internal energy market 21 February 2006 September 2006 
			 2004/012/EC Packaging and packaging waste 18 August 2005 September 2006 
			 2004/035/EC Environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage 30 April 2007 April 2007 
			 2004/042/EC Limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to use of organic solvents in certain paints and varnishes and vehicle refinishing products 30 October 2005 25 October 2005 
			 2004/098/EC Restrictions on the marketing and use of pentabromodiphenyl ether in aircraft emergency evacuation systems 1 January 2005 22 December 2004 
			 2004/101/EC A scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community 13 November 2005 September 2006 
			 2004/107/EC Relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air 15 February 2007 February 2007 
			 2005/032/EC Establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for energy-using products 11 August 2007 August 2007 
			 2005/033/EC The sulphur content of marine fuels 11 August 2006 August 2006 
			 2005/059/EC Restrictions on marketing and use of certain dangerous substances (Toluene and Trichlorobenzene) 15 December 2006 December 2006 
			 2005/069/EC Marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations 29 December 2006 December 2006 
			 2006/007/EC Bathing water quality 24 March 2008 March 2008 
			 2006/011/EC Pollution caused by dangerous substances discharged into the aquatic environment of the community (codified version) n/a n/a 
			 2006/012/EC Waste (codified version) n/a n/a 
			 2006/032/EC Energy end-use efficiency and energy services 17 May 2008 May 2008 
		
	
	I am placing in the Library of the House a list which itemises the directives adopted together with:
	 (a) the EU deadline for transposition into domestic legislation.
	 (b) where, appropriate, the final or expected United Kingdom transposition date.
	Details of all Directives in force can be found on the Eur-Lex database available on the European Union's website at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex.

Environmental Management

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department  (a) is committed to the achievement of environmental management to ISO 14001 standard and  (b) has been externally certified as in compliance with that standard; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: DEFRA is firmly committed to the achievement of environmental management systems ISO 14001 standard in its buildings. A programme of independent accreditation to that standard is under way. The priority is for our larger sites to achieve accreditation and at the end of June, a total of 27 sites (offices and laboratories), covering 78 per cent. of staff in the Department and its Executive Agencies, were accredited to ISO 14001. Three further sites covering eight per cent. of staff in the Department have environmental management systems in place, which are yet to be independently certified to the standard.
	DEFRA has submitted data relevant to this question (including external certification) for annual Sustainable Development in Government Reports. The last Report published by the Sustainable Development Commission in December 2005, covering the reporting period April 2004 to March 2005, is available at: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/watchdog.

Environmental Management

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will commit the Government to compliance with the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard.

Ian Pearson: On 12 June the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced new sustainable operations targets for the Government estate. Environmental management systems (EMS) are a key enabler in supporting improvements in operational performance on the estate, particularly in areas such as energy, water and waste. Therefore, the new targets included a commitment that all Government Departments should have an EMS in place, based, or modelled upon, a recognised system (such as ISO 14001, or the European regulation EMAS).
	Departmental performance against EMS estate targets has been published in annual Sustainable Development in Government Reports. The last report published by the Sustainable Development Commission, the independent watchdog, was in December 2005. It covered the reporting period April 2004 to March 2005 and is available at: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/watchdog

Farm Subsidies

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 April 2006 to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten),  Official Report, column 24W, on farm subsidies, whether the former Chief Executive of the Rural Payments Agency remains on paid leave of absence; when a decision on his future will be made; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: As a priority, DEFRA appointed an interim Chief Executive of the RPA to lead the organisation through the next period, and work has already begun to strengthen the senior management team. The former CEO of the RPA is currently on paid leave and we are in the process of resolving his employment issues through the proper legal procedures in line with the Department's HR good practice.

Farm Subsidies

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Single Payment Scheme funds for the period between December 2005 and February 2006 to be paid.

Barry Gardiner: The EU regulatory payment window for 2005 Single Payment Scheme ran from 1 December 2005 to 30 June 2006. The Rural Payments Agency began to make payments to English farmers in February 2006 and by 30 June over £1.438 billion (94.9 per cent. of total estimated expenditure) had been disbursed. The remaining sums will be paid as soon as possible.

Fisheries

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what share of the EU Fisheries Fund agreed on 19 June will be allocated to  (a) the UK and  (b) each other EU member state.

Ben Bradshaw: The European Fisheries Fund, which will replace the current Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) from 1 January 2007, will run for seven years with a total budget of €3.849 billion. We anticipate that the UK will be allocated about €122 million. However, the Council regulation has not completed its formal procedures so the figure is subject to confirmation. Therefore the Department does not yet hold specific information relating to other member states.

Fisheries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1729-30W, what report his Department has made to the European Commission on by-catch monitoring under the obligations of Council Regulation (EC) 812/2004.

Ben Bradshaw: The UK Government's report to the European Commission, on by-catch monitoring, is available on the DEFRA website at: http://www.defra. gov.uk/fish/sea/conserve/regulation.htm.

Flood and Coastal Defences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the full updating of the National Flood and Coastal Defence database will be completed.

Ian Pearson: The National Flood and Coastal Defence database has been developed in a number of phases. The latest development means that it can now hold data on structures that help control coastal erosion as well as flood defences, and it is now live and available to staff in both the Environment Agency and the operating authorities. Further development will be planned to meet evolving needs.

Flood and Coastal Defences

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's expenditure has been on flood defences in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency (EA) is the principal operating authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England. DEFRA has provided £141 million to the EA in grant in aid in 2006-07 up to the end of July. This supports capital improvement projects, maintenance and operation of existing infrastructure, and associated activities such as flood warning, public awareness of flood risk and advising planning authorities with respect to development in areas at risk of flooding.
	Local authority expenditure on flood risk management other than capital projects is supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government Revenue Support Grant mechanism.
	Capital projects to manage coastal erosion risk often also provide significant benefit in terms of reducing risk of flooding from the sea but expenditure on these is routed directly to local authorities by DEFRA, and is not included in EA grant in aid. It would not be possible to identify the proportion resulting in flood risk benefit without incurring disproportionate cost.

Flood and Coastal Defences

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Environment Agency has made of the flood defence systems in Robertsbridge, East Sussex; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency's current assessment of the Robertsbridge flood defence systems is that they are in very good condition and able to function in accordance with the design.
	However, modifications, which will improve the Agency's response time during a flood incident, are to be made to the road crossing defences this summer in time for the start of the flood season.

GM Crops

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what genetically modified crops are licensed to be grown in the UK.

Ian Pearson: Only one type of genetically modified (GM) maize seed, Monsanto's MON 810, is currently approved and being made available for commercial cultivation in the European Union. MON 810 is not suitable for UK growing conditions.

Greyhound Racing Industry

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received from animal welfare organisations on the decision by the greyhound racing industry to pursue self-regulation; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has received representations from a number of animal welfare organisations about regulating greyhound racing.
	I recently received a joint letter from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Dogs Trust and the League Against Cruel Sports outlining their concerns on the self-regulation of greyhound racing. These organisations are represented on DEFRA's Greyhound Working Group—set up to examine the welfare aspects of greyhound racing and to offer advice to Ministers and officials on future regulations and a code of practice. This group has yet to make any recommendations.

Greyhound Racing Industry

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will reconsider the decision not to include proposals for statutory provision for greyhound racing in the Animal Welfare Bill.

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken to promote the welfare of retired greyhounds.

Ben Bradshaw: The Animal Welfare Bill, currently before Parliament, will introduce an offence of failing to provide for the welfare needs of an animal. This will apply to owners and keepers of all animals, including racing and retired greyhounds. In addition, we are considering making specific regulations under the Animal Welfare Bill in relation to the welfare of racing greyhounds. We consider that these regulations are better contained in secondary legislation rather than on the face of the Bill.

Greyhound Racing Industry

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many racing greyhounds were killed at the end of their working lives in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government do not hold such information.

H7N3 Virus (Norfolk)

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what compensation is available for Norfolk poultry farmers whose poultry has been culled as a consequence of the outbreak of the H7N3 virus.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 8 May 2006
	Under the Animal Health Act 1981, compensation is payable for all healthy birds culled for disease control purposes; the amount is the value of the bird immediately before slaughter. This applies to all birds suffering from any strain of avian influenza, regardless of whether it is of high or low pathogenicity. We also provide compensation for eggs or other property that is destroyed.
	In the recent cases of H7N3 in Norfolk, the affected poultry owners will receive compensation for all birds slaughtered because the mortality rate was low and slaughter was conducted on suspicion of disease.

Landscape Management

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has  (a) conducted and  (b) commissioned into (i) the capability of farmers to continue to manage the landscape and (ii) possible further changes to the Single Farm Payment to encourage this.

Barry Gardiner: The Government are committed to conserving and enhancing the countryside and biodiversity and recognise the key role played by farmers and other land managers. The introduction of Environmental Stewardship (ES) in 2005 was recognition of the benefits that can be delivered by farming and provides funding to farmers and other land managers in England who deliver effective environmental management on their land. Together with the introduction of cross-compliance conditions under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), this will ensure that the English landscape continues to be protected and enhanced. It will also encourage the retention, if not expansion, of countryside management skills.
	Past research has considered implications of common agricultural policy Reform on land management, including the take-up of agri-environment schemes. A new research programme was set up last year to monitor the impacts of the introduction of the SPS on farm level change and the environment under the Agricultural Change and Environment Observatory Programme, details of which are at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/observatory/index.htm. The results of that programme will help inform the UK negotiating position in future EU discussions on both the SPS rules and wider CAP reform.
	Environmental Stewardship has also an evaluation strategy, available at http://www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/pdfs/es/ES-EvaluationPlan-Feb06.pdf, and is supported by research and monitoring programmes. The projects under these ES programmes tend to focus on issues such as 'effectiveness', 'efficiency' and 'improvements' relating to the management options of the scheme. The 'capability of farmers' is not investigated independently but is a factor that can influence the outputs of these projects.

Methane

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps are being taken  (a) in England and  (b) internationally to reduce the effects of methane emissions.

Ian Pearson: UK methane emissions between 1990 and 2004 fell by an estimated 50 per cent., mainly as a consequence of reductions in sectors such as waste, agriculture, coal mining and natural gas distribution.
	More recycling, helped by the introduction of the landfill tax, and an increase in the capture of landfill gas for energy recovery, has led to an estimated 63 per cent. fall in landfill emissions since 1990. There has been a 40 per cent. decrease in landfill emissions since 1999, when the Government increased the landfill tax to £10 per tonne of waste. Agriculture accounts for around 41 per cent. of UK methane emissions, and emissions from this sector have fallen by an estimated 13 per cent. since 1990.
	We are currently reviewing our approach to anaerobic digestion, which can help to capture and utilise emissions from manures and slurries, as part of the Government's response to the Biomass Taskforce Report. Additionally we are continuing to fund research on options to reduce direct emissions from ruminants.
	Methane emissions from coal mining fell by more than 70 per cent. between 1990 and 2004 due to the closure of coal mines as a consequence of fuel switching in the energy supply industry and UK Coal participation in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Methane gas extracted from mines and used as fuel has been exempt from the climate change levy since 2003. This exemption encourages the owners of mining facilities and decommissioned mines to invest in systems that capture methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
	Fugitive emissions from natural gas have fallen by about 39 per cent. between 1990 and 2004. National Grid Gas, which owns and maintains the UK gas distribution network, is continuing to improve the UK gas network. Internationally, the UK is taking an active role in the international Methane to Markets Partnership, and will co-chair a new Agriculture Sub-Committee with Argentina. This will examine the scope for capturing methane from animal wastes in a cost-effective way.

Nanotechnology Products

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to publish details of the Government's timetable for the introduction of mandatory regulations for nanotechnology products; and whether they will apply retrospectively for those products already on the market in the UK.

Ian Pearson: From a review the Department has undertaken and has published on the DEFRA website, I am assured that much of our current legislation addresses risks from materials regardless of their size. DEFRA has responsibility for the possible environmental risks from nanomaterials. If there are environmental risks which need controlling, irrespective of whether the cause of the risk is already marketed or not, they will be appropriately controlled and emergency powers are available if needed.
	I am aware that very small materials may pose new risks and it is with that in mind that the UK are moving towards a framework of appropriate control. We are therefore currently gathering evidence to see if these types of products represent a hazard or risk to the environment that would require additional control. Our evidence-gathering phase, working across the UK Government, is scheduled to cover the next two years, at which point it is intended that there will be a fundamental review of the need for control. Given this, there are no plans for the mandatory regulation of nanotechnology products and hence no plans for publication.
	DEFRA recently consulted on this approach. The consultation period ended on 23 June but information is still available on the DEFRA website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/nanotech-vrs/index.htm

Natural England

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any of the current functions of  (a) English Nature and  (b) the Countryside Agency will be discarded in the transfer of responsibilities to Natural England.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 20 July 2006
	None of the current functions of English Nature or the Countryside Agency will be discarded in the transfer of responsibilities to Natural England, although some of the Countryside Agency's responsibilities will transfer to the Commission for Rural Communities rather than to Natural England. We took the opportunity in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 to consolidate and simplify the way in which the roles of these bodies have been described in legislation since the 1940s. However the statutory purpose of Natural England is deliberately drawn widely to encompass everything which the predecessor bodies were able to do. It will, of course, be a matter for the Board of Natural England, in consultation with Ministers, to decide how to distribute its resources between its various functions.

Natural England

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made in amalgamating English Nature and the Countryside Agency to form Natural England.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Significant progress has been made towards establishing Natural England. For over a year, the constituent bodies that are to form the new agency have been operating as a confederation of partners working together under a common overarching vision and purpose. In May this year we established Natural England as a "skeleton body", with Chair, members and senior officers, to undertake preparatory work. In June, this skeleton body published a document setting out its "Strategic Direction". Work is well under way on the remaining arrangements for Natural England to take on its full statutory functions on 1 October.

Natural England

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what new responsibilities Natural England will have in addition to those arising from the transfer of tasks from the Countryside Agency and English Nature.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 20 July 2006
	In addition to the transfer of responsibilities from the Countryside Agency and English Nature, Natural England will also assume responsibility for the majority of the functions which are currently undertaken by DEFRA's Rural Development Service. Principal among these is the administration of agri-environment schemes. The functions will be formally set out in an agreement, under part 8 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, between the Secretary of State and Natural England.

Natural England

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how Natural England will co-ordinate its activities with other Government bodies with responsibilities for the natural environment, with particular reference to the Environment Agency.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Natural England will need to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders at both the national and the regional level. Our Rural Strategy 2004 confirmed the particular importance we attach to the need for Natural England, the Forestry Commission and the Environment Agency to work closely together. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed in September 2005 setting out how this could be achieved and it was a subject of lively debate during the passage of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill. The first major collaborative project between Natural England and the Environment Agency, on catchment sensitive farming, has begun.

Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Barry Gardiner: Since his appointment my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited the South East three times, and the North West, the South West, and the West Midlands each once. In addition he has undertaken numerous engagements in London.

Onshore Windfarms

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the levels of carbon emissions relating to onshore windfarms.

Malcolm Wicks: I have been asked to reply.
	Once a windfarm has been commissioned it produces no carbon emission.
	Of the carbon used in the development of a windfarm, the Sustainable Development Commission's report published November 2005 makes clear that "the energy pay back for a windfarm is 3-10 months."
	A copy of the full report can be downloaded from their website. http://www.sd-commission.org.uk

Orang-utans

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to prevent the habitat of the orang-utan being destroyed in  (a) Malaysia,  (b) Indonesia and  (c) other countries by the increased use of palm oil.

Barry Gardiner: The Government are very conscious that increasing consumption of goods and services in the UK can have environmental and social consequences overseas. DEFRA is commissioning research on the environmental impacts of internationally sourced commodity production, and palm oil is one of the commodities being investigated. The results of the research will inform future policy development in the UK and abroad.
	We are also working hard in a number of areas to tackle the important issue of natural habitat loss that might affect the orang-utan.
	For example, the UK Government have been the major financial supporter of the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) run by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). More information is available at: http://www.unep.org/grasp.
	In October 2005, EU Agriculture Ministers finalised new legislation on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) that will allow the EU to enter into agreements with developing countries to provide them with assistance to tackle illegal logging.
	The Government are also seeking to address concerns regarding the use of palm oil for transport bio-fuel production. We are proposing to develop a carbon and sustainability assurance scheme to ensure that the best transport bio-fuels are used in the UK. The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership is looking to define the principal environmental criteria required to protect sensitive eco-systems and will prepare a draft environmental standard to apply to all fuels, including imports.

Organic Food

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of organic food sold in the UK which was produced in the UK; what powers the UK has to check the authenticity of organic food imported from abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: It is estimated that overall the percentage of organic food sold in the UK which was produced in the UK increased from 30 per cent. in 2002, to 44 per cent. in 2005. For food which can be produced in the UK the estimate for 2005 is 62 per cent. The Soil Association(1) estimates that in 2005, 66 per cent. of the organic primary produce sold by multiple retailers was sourced in the UK
	Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 requires organic food imported from outside the EU to be produced to EU standards for organic production. The European Commission has recognised certain third countries as having equivalent systems of production and control. Otherwise decisions on equivalence are taken by the member states in response to requests from individual importers for the authorisations required for importing organic produce from third countries not recognised by the European Commission for this purpose.
	( 1 ) Source :
	Organic Market Report 2006—published by the Soil Association—data collected by Soil Association from Tesco, Sainsburys and the Co-op.

Pet Cemeteries

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what agreement he has reached with the Environment Agency on landfill licensing fees for small pet cemeteries; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1915W.
	DEFRA officials, working with the Environment Agency, have now completed their investigation into the scope for taking an alternative approach to the permitting of pet cemeteries. We expect to announce a proposal very shortly.

Recreational Boaters

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why the Environment Agency proposes to increase its charges to recreational boaters.

Barry Gardiner: The Environment Agency has a significant backlog of work on its waterways assets. Over the past year it has made considerable capital investment towards reducing the backlog but in order for waterways to remain sustainable in the future, boaters will need to pay a fair and proportionate contribution towards their upkeep.

Recycling in Schools

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recycling targets his Department has set for schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much funding has been allocated for school recycling projects in England; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with schools on  (a) increasing the provision of recycling facilities and  (b) promoting recycling awareness in schools.

Ben Bradshaw: No recycling targets have been specifically set by the Government for schools. However, DEFRA does provide financial support for the operation of Eco-Schools, an international programme developed by the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) and managed in England by Environmental Campaigns (ENCAMS). Eco-Schools promotes environmental awareness around nine main themes, one of which is waste minimisation and recycling.
	Eco-Schools involves the whole school (pupils, teachers, non-teaching employees and governors) together with members of the local community (parents, the local authority, the media and local businesses). The scheme enables schools to enter for an internationally recognised award, the highest level of which is the Green Flag, with intermediary awards of bronze and silver. Over 3,000 schools are currently registered, including 500 schools that have achieved Green Flag status.
	DEFRA will be providing £40,000 of funding for Eco-Schools in 2006-07. £100,000 is also provided from non-grant sources, mainly from other sponsorship.
	In addition, from April 2006 the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) will be carrying out work with schools, including continuation of the Cycler assemblies, as part of their waste awareness programme. Many local authorities are involved with waste education work, both independently and with WRAP. The Environment Action Fund also funds some projects that work with young people on issues around sustainable consumption.

Sakhalin Island (Pipelines)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the monitoring of the construction of onshore oil and gas pipelines on Sakhalin Island to ensure that it meets environmental standards; and how the information is verified.

Ian Pearson: The Government have been closely involved in the Sakhalin project from both an environmental and social viewpoint. There has been close monitoring of the onshore construction of oil and gas pipelines by the potential lender group, including the Export Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Officials from both ECGD and the Department for International Development have visited the island and some of the construction sites.
	Additionally, environmental consultants acting on behalf of the potential lenders are carrying out regular monitoring and verification of the project's performance.

Sakhalin Island (Pipelines)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information his Department has received on how many rivers on Sakhalin Island were crossed with oil and gas pipelines as part of the Sakhalin II project outside the designated winter period detailed in the River Crossing Strategy.

Ian Pearson: The designated winter period for crossing rivers as part of the Sakhalin II project is 1 December to 30 April.
	Dates on which the rivers were crossed with oil and gas pipelines are available at the Sakhalin Energy website at:
	http://www.sakhalinenergy.com/en/proiect.asp?p=rc_list.

Sakhalin Island (Pipelines)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures his Department has taken to ensure that there are sufficient safeguards in place to prevent a net loss of salmon spawning area on Sakhalin Island as a result of construction activities by the Sakhalin II consortium; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department has gathered information to ensure there are safeguards in place to prevent a net loss of salmon spawning area on Sakhalin Island. Information gathered on the effect of the Sakhalin II project on salmon spawning habitats includes:
	Official and ministerial meetings with Shell;
	Information included in Sakhalin Energy's River Crossing Strategy;
	Monitoring information published by Sakhalin Energy on its website;
	Information gathered during site visits carried out by Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) and other potential lenders and their independent consultants.
	Sakhalin Energy has committed itself to ensuring no net loss of habitat. DEFRA will be monitoring performance through its close working relationships with the relevant departments such as ECGD, who, together with other agencies such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), have commissioned independent monitoring of the project.

Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Regulations

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date the Sewage Sludge in Agriculture Regulations will be implemented.

Ian Pearson: The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations came into force in 1989. We have consulted on proposed revisions and are currently seeking views from stakeholders before making recommendations on how best to proceed.

Six-day Movement Rule

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he made the last assessment of the six-day movement rule; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 20 July 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 1 February 2006,  Official Report, column 525W.
	I subsequently announced, on 7 February 2006, an independent review of the livestock movements rules. When announcing the review I made it clear that the length of the movement standstills applicable to any species was out of scope. I expect to receive the report shortly.

Slow Food

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to promote slow food.

Barry Gardiner: Under DEFRA's regional food strategy we have, since 2003, been providing an additional £1 million per year to support the quality regional food sector in England. Food from Britain (FFB) take the lead in the delivery of a national programme of activity that supports producers in the sector. In taking forward this programme of activities, which focuses on trade development, consumer awareness and business competitiveness, FFB work together with a range of organisations, including Slow Food UK.
	A good example of this is ensuring a strong British presence at Slow Food's biennial Salone del Gusto food show held in Turin. Both organisations have worked well together for the last two shows in recruiting quality regional food producers for the event and in providing the necessary logistical support at the show. This close co-operation is continuing this year in preparation for the 2006 Salone del Gusto taking place in October.

Timber

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether members of his Department with responsibility for the Central Point of Expertise on Timber  (a) have visited and  (b) have plans to visit (i) Malaysia, (ii) Finland and (iii) Tasmania; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: An official from the Department with responsibility for the Central Point of Expertise on Timber has visited Finland and Malaysia on official business. There are currently no arrangements for a visit to Tasmania.

Warm Front

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many households in England are eligible for assistance under the Warm Front programme; and how the overall number of eligible households has changed as a result of revisions to qualifying benefits in each year since 2000.

Ian Pearson: According to the eligibility criteria for 2004-05, around 2.8 million households in the private sector were eligible for Warm Front.
	Approximately 40 per cent. of these households were in receipt of disability benefits only. The eligibility criteria have stayed broadly the same since 2000, with major changes only occurring because of changes to the benefits or tax credit system, for example the replacement of income support for those of pension age with pension credit, and the replacement of working families and disabled persons tax credit with working and child tax credits. These changes had a minimal impact on the overall number of eligible households.

Water

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what work has been carried out to establish the background levels of fluoxetine in the aquatic environment; and what estimate he has made of the amount of residues from  (a) antidepressant and  (b) other drugs in the (i) livers, (ii) brains and (iii) muscle of fish.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency has developed analytical methods for the detection of fluoxetine to levels of 0.002 microgrammes per litre (g/l) and norfluoxetine to 0.005 g/l. Monitoring was undertaken during 2005 downstream of a number of sewage works across England and Wales and fluoxetine (including norfluoxetine) was detected in 90 per cent. of the 39 samples. The average concentration detected was 0.017 g/l. An Environment Agency briefing on fluoxetine is available at: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/fluoextine_1068996.pdf
	As a follow-up to studies commissioned by the Environment Agency, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) has investigated the presence of pharmaceutical products, including the antidepressant Lofepramine, in the liver and muscles of a small number of pike in the Grand Union Canal. Pike are predatory fish and thus exhibit the highest levels of any residues likely to enter the food chain. Lofepramine was not detected in any of the samples.

Water

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of  (a) levels of pre-tax profits and  (b) increases in water charges imposed by water companies.

Ian Pearson: Water companies made profits of £2.1 billion in 2004-05. The Government recognise that companies have to pay a return on their capital. However, water companies can only increase their profits by becoming more efficient and delivering all their services at less cost. These savings are also passed to customers in lower bills when the next price limits are set.
	Average water and sewerage bills for household customers in England and Wales increased by 5.5 per cent. (including inflation) in April 2006. Customers' bills rose by an average of £15, from £279 to £294. The increases are in line with the price limits set by the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) for 2005-10 and will contribute towards a total capital investment programme of £16.8 billion for environmental and service improvements.

Water

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much water on average was consumed by each person in England in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by water company.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat provides the Government with water consumption figures for England and Wales via the annual security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water report. Household water consumption is expressed in litres per head per day.
	The following table provides company estimates of average household consumption for 2004-05.
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  Water and sewerage companies (WaSC)  
			 Anglian 143 
			 Dwr Cymru 151 
			 Northumbrian North 146 
			 Northumbrian South 158 
			 Severn Trent 132 
			 SouthWest 161 
			 Southern 157 
			 Thames 159 
			 United Utilities 142 
			 Wessex 146 
			 Yorkshire 145 
			 WaSC Average 147 
			   
			  Water only companies (WoC)  
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire 167 
			 Bristol 153 
			 Cambridge 148 
			 Dee Valley 145 
			 Folkestone and Dover 159 
			 Mid Kent 167 
			 Portsmouth 159 
			 South East 173 
			 South Staffordshire 146 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 173 
			 Tendring Hundred 125 
			 Three Valleys 178 
			 WoC Average 165 
			   
			 Industry Average 150 
			  Notes:  1. Averages are weighted by population of unmeasured households.  2. Excludes underground supply pipe leakage.  3. The 2004-05 report can be accessed on the Ofwat website at: http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/aptrix/ofwat/publish.nsf/AttachmentsBy Title/leakage04-05.pdf/$FILE/leakage_04-05.pdf

Water

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much water consumption per head of population was planned by each water company in 2005-06.

Ian Pearson: All water companies in England and Wales prepared new water resources plans in 2004. The plans provided forecasts of per capita consumption (pcc) from 2005-06 to 2029-30. The following table shows pcc forecasts for 2005-06. These represent the theoretical average demand for water in a dry year, excluding the impact of any restrictions on water use. These numbers have been calculated from water companies' forecasts of measured and unmeasured pcc.
	
		
			  Water company  Forecast pcc in 2005-06 (litres/head/day) 
			 Anglian Water 147 
			 Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water 171 
			 Bristol Water 149 
			 Cambridge Water 152 
			 Cholderton and District Water 171 
			 Dee Valley Water 158 
			 Dwr Cymru Welsh Water 166 
			 Essex and Suffolk Water 165 
			 Folkestone and Dover Water 169 
			 Mid Kent Water 170 
			 Northumbrian Water 150 
			 Portsmouth Water 169 
			 Severn Trent Water 137 
			 South East Water 185 
			 South Staffordshire Water 155 
			 South West Water 163 
			 Southern Water 168 
			 Sutton and East Surrey Water 187 
			 Tendring Hundred Water 131 
			 Thames Water 168 
			 Three Valleys Water 183 
			 United Utilities 154 
			 Wessex Water 147 
			 Yorkshire Water 150

Water

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much water was lost as a result of water leaks in London in each year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales. It collects leakage information from companies on their performance against these targets. This information is published annually in Ofwat's 'Security of supply, leakage and the efficient use of water report'.
	Thames Water is the water supply company for the majority of customers in London. Some customers are supplied by Three Valleys Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, or Sutton and East Surrey Water. Ofwat collects leakage on the basis of company supply area only. Specific figures relating to London are not available.

Wildlife Sites

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made towards bringing 95 per cent. of all nationally important wildlife sites into favourable condition by 2010.

Barry Gardiner: As of 3 July 2006, 72.7 per cent. of the area of England covered by sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) was in favourable or recovering condition, compared with 56.9 per cent. in March 2003. This is good progress towards England's public service agreement target for SSSIs and in line with our trajectory to achieve 95 per cent. by 2010.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Divisions

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House how many divisions were called off in each of the last three sessions due to failure to provide tellers; what the  (a) date and  (b) subject under discussion was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The Journal Office of the House of Commons has supplied the following information for the last three Sessions, and for the current Session to date:
	
		
			  Session  Date  Business 
			 2002-03 20 May 2003 Criminal Justice Bill (Report stage) 
			 2003-04 None — 
			 2004-05 None — 
			 2005-06(1) 31 January 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (Programme) (No. 2) 
			 (1) To 18 July 2006.

Early-day motions (E-tabling)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Leader of the House whether he has examined the merits of enabling e-tabling of Early Day Motions; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: This is essentially a matter for the House. The Government are however aware of concerns about the principle of electronic tabling for parliamentary proceedings without strong safeguards to ensure that any new system is not open to abuse, and that the Member concerned is personally responsible at each stage. I understand that the Procedure Committee is currently examining matters relating to EDMs, including the procedures for their tabling. I look forward to the Committee's recommendations.

Parliamentary Questions

Anne Main: To ask the Leader of the House what steps he is taking to ensure that ministerial answers to parliamentary questions address the terms of the questions being asked.

Jack Straw: In answering parliamentary questions, as in other areas, Ministers are subject to the obligations set out in the Ministerial Code, which states that:
	"It is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament... Ministers should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest".
	Ministerial answers should reflect the terms of the questions asked.
	As I have already indicated to the House, I have raised the answering of parliamentary questions directly with ministerial colleagues. This covered the issue of content as well as the issue of timeliness.

Parliamentary Questions

Anne Main: To ask the Leader of the House if he will ask the Modernisation Committee to examine the degree to which the quality of replies to parliamentary questions enables Ministers to be held accountable by hon. Members.

Jack Straw: I have no plans to do so. I understand that the Procedure Committee may be considering an inquiry into parliamentary questions later this year. The Public Administration Select Committee (and its predecessor the Public Service Committee) has conducted regular inquiries since 1995-96 into aspects of the answers to parliamentary questions.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the adjournment debate on written parliamentary questions of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 344-60, in which the role of parliamentary questions in contributing to ministerial accountability was discussed, including the pressure being placed on the system by the quantity of questions being tabled.

TRANSPORT

A13

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has for improving the A13; what improvements were made to the A13 between Basildon and Southend-on-Sea during 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The A13 is the responsibility of the Secretary of State only between its junctions with the A1306 and A1089. We have no plans at present for improvements to this section of road. The remainder of the A13 is the responsibility of Southend on Sea borough council and Essex county council. Improvements to these sections of the road are therefore matters for these authorities. In his announcement of 6 July about Regional Funding Allocations, the Secretary of State approved entry into the programme of a scheme promoted by Essex county council for the improvement of the junction of the A13 with the A130 at Sadler's Farm.

A13

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) minor and  (b) serious accidents occurred on the A13 between the A405 and the M25 in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: I presume the hon. Member means the A406. The number of serious and slight personal injury road accidents reported to the police on the A13 between the A406 and the M25 from 1996 to 2005 is given in the table.
	
		
			  Accidents occurring on A13 between A406 and M25:1996-2005 
			   Serious  Slight 
			 1996 41 189 
			 1997 52 194 
			 1998 33 188 
			 1999 12 100 
			 2000 27 153 
			 2001 22 119 
			 2002 17 107 
			 2003 30 91 
			 2004 28 122 
			 2005 12 92

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on properties purchased by the Highways Agency under compulsory purchase orders along the proposed A21 upgrade route.

Stephen Ladyman: No properties on this route have been compulsory purchased.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the environmental consequences of the proposed A21 upgrade.

Stephen Ladyman: The environmental consequences of the proposed A21 upgrade schemes are being assessed in accordance with the prescribed methodology set out in Volume 11 of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with residents in East Sussex regarding the proposed A21 upgrade.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has had discussions with residents in East Sussex, regarding the proposed A21 upgrade, as part of public consultation undertaken from November 2002 onwards.
	Discussions will continue with individuals and representative and statutory bodies on the issues raised by the proposals.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what role  (a) Rother district council and  (b) East Sussex county council have played in the proposed A21 upgrade.

Stephen Ladyman: Rother district council and East Sussex county council have participated in the A21 upgrade consultation processes that have taken place both prior to and following the publication of the Access to Hastings Multi Modal Study.

A21

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Highways Agency has spent on consultation fees while assessing the proposed A21 upgrade.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency spent £8,181.44 (ex-VAT) on the A21 upgrade consultation process that took place following the Access to Hastings Multi Modal Study.
	These costs were incurred between April 2002 and February 2005 prior to Preferred Route announcements for the Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst improvement and the Flimwell to Robertsbridge improvement.

Accident Statistics

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) fatal and  (b) non-fatal traffic accidents there were in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Accident Statistics

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many pedestrians have been  (a) killed and  (b) injured by vehicles in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of pedestrians killed in personal injury road accidents reported to the police for the years up to 2004 is published in Table 2 of Road Casualties Great Britain: 2004. Pedestrian fatalities for 2005 are published in Table 1 of Road Casualties Great Britain: Main Results: 2005.
	The number of pedestrian injured in personal injury road accidents reported to the police over the last 10 years up to 2004 can be obtained from the in Table 5c of Road Casualties Great Britain: 2004 and Road Casualties Great Britain: 2002. The number of pedestrians injured in 2005 can be obtained from Table 1 of Road Casualties Great Britain: Main Results: 2005.
	Copies of these publications are in the Library.

Accident Statistics

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents occurred on or near pedestrian crossings in each year since 1997; and how many of these accidents involved the  (a) death and  (b) injury of pedestrians.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police that occurred on or within 50 m of a pedestrian crossing facility, and those that involved a pedestrian death or injury are given in the table.
	
		
			  Accidents on or within 50 m of a pedestrian crossing facility: 1997-2005 
			   All accidents  Accidents involving pedestrian death  Accidents involving pedestrian injury 
			 1997 34,881 247 10,889 
			 1998 35,679 229 11,007 
			 1999 35,455 225 10,706 
			 2000 34,835 213 10,433 
			 2001 33,979 195 10,188 
			 2002 33,999 206 9,948 
			 2003 33,018 232 9,582 
			 2004 30,824 181 9,171 
			 2005 29,610 183 8,844

Accident Statistics

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many hit-and-run incidents there have been in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police which involved one or more hit and run drivers or riders for the years 2001-05, in each London borough is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of personal injury accidents involving one or more hit and run drivers/riders by London borough: 2001-05 
			  Number of accidents 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Barking 65 83 78 89 81 
			 Barnet 169 217 191 178 153 
			 Bexley 86 86 81 65 70 
			 Brent 209 234 199 195 142 
			 Bromley 102 153 95 97 106 
			 Camden 255 237 212 161 103 
			 City of London 72 53 35 51 33 
			 Croydon 187 193 183 177 158 
			 Ealing 163 225 217 175 169 
			 Enfield 183 253 225 215 146 
			 Greenwich 126 189 153 119 129 
			 Hackney 265 292 235 224 187 
			 Hammersmith 116 142 136 111 124 
			 Haringey 232 252 237 176 120 
			 Harrow 75 83 73 76 63 
			 Havering 72 93 103 95 59 
			 Hillingdon 113 131 130 101 91 
			 Hounslow 186 154 184 137 105 
			 Islington 244 252 195 143 114 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 83 124 108 75 88 
			 Kingston upon Thames 48 41 34 42 37 
			 Lambeth 297 304 305 203 161 
			 Lewisham 201 206 202 160 136 
			 Merton 72 88 88 53 52 
			 Newham 249 254 202 143 195 
			 Redbridge 194 166 215 162 157 
			 Richmond upon Thames 91 69 69 54 45 
			 Southwark 293 294 271 170 171 
			 Sutton 67 49 56 46 42 
			 Tower Hamlets 228 209 208 164 151 
			 Waltham Forest 177 184 195 161 157 
			 Wandsworth 134 201 141 137 106 
			 Westminster 326 335 317 231 200 
			  Source:  Transport for London

Accident Statistics

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many traffic accidents there were involving  (a) pedestrians,  (b) buses,  (c) trams and  (d) cyclists in London in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The numbers of personal injury accidents reported to the police involving  (a) pedestrian casualties,  (b) buses,  (c) trams and  (d) cyclists in London in each year since 1997 are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Personal injury accidents by vehicle type: London: 1997-2005 
			  Number of accidents 
			   With pedestrian casualties  Involving a bus or coach  Involving a tram( 1)  Involving pedal cycles 
			 1997 8,919 2,776 — 4,482 
			 1998 8,778 2,957 — 4,359 
			 1999 8,748 3,083 2 4,251 
			 2000 8,351 3,188 9 3,586 
			 2001 7,903 3,153 3 3,379 
			 2002 7,238 2,862 6 3,104 
			 2003 6,905 3,098 9 3,129 
			 2004 6,206 2,939 10 3,021 
			 2005 5,852 2,658 6 2,979 
			 (1) Data for accidents involving trams are only available from 1999 onwards  Source: Transport for London

Accident Statistics

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many sleep-related traffic accidents occurred on motorways in each of the past three years; how many  (a) deaths and  (b) serious injuries were incurred; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of such accidents.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer to my answers to my hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Anne Snelgrove) of 28 November 2005,  Official Report, column 153W and to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 740W.

Bicycle Bells

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislation to make it a requirement for all bicycles to be fitted with bells at all times whilst being ridden.

Stephen Ladyman: Bells are currently required to be fitted at the point of sale of a bicycle, but there is no obligation to retain the bell when the cycle is in use, or indeed for the bell to be used.
	New harmonised European construction standards for bicycles come into force in November this year. Although they do not cover bicycle bells, the introduction of these standards makes this a sensible moment to review our current policies on cycle construction, including the question of bells.
	I would of course undertake a public consultation before making any proposal to amend regulations.

Boat Collisions (River Thames)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many collisions of boats there were on the River Thames in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: For each of the five years from 2001 to 2005 the total numbers of collisions involving all types of craft in the Thames area recorded by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 3 
			 2005 6

Boat Licences

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many boat licences were granted in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not held by the Department for Transport.

Bus Driver Tests

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the pass rate was in each of the last three financial years for driving tests conducted by the Driving Standards Agency examiners on bus driver candidates; and how many bus driver candidates passed in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table shows PCV (bus) tests conducted, number of passes and the pass rate for the last three financial years. Only tests conducted by DSA examiners are included.
	
		
			   Number tests  Number passes  Pass rate (percentage) 
			 2003-04 10,083 4,591 45.5 
			 2004-05 12,251 5,369 43.8 
			 2005-06 11,648 5,175 44.4

Cargo Transfers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 258W, on cargo transfers, what guidance his Department has issued to harbour authorities on applying for  (a) Harbour Revision Orders and  (b) other orders under the Harbours Act 1964; and whether such guidance applies only in England and Wales.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has published advice on the procedures for obtaining Harbour Orders on the Department's website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_shipping/documents/page/dft_shipping_ 611467.hcsp.
	The guidance applies only to England and Wales.

Crossrail

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has undertaken on the likely impact of Crossrail on the Heathrow Express.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 18 July 2006
	The report of the Crossrail Timetable Working Group, published on 22 June 2006, considers the impact of Crossrail services on existing rail services and future services allowing for growth, including Heathrow Express. A copy of the report can be found on my Department's website: http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/page/dft_railways_ 611918.pdf

Cycling Accidents

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) fatal,  (b) serious and  (c) slight injuries suffered by cyclists on (i) urban roads and (ii) rural roads in each year since 2003 resulted from collisions involving (A) at least one motor vehicle, (B) no motor vehicles and (C) powered two-wheel vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is given in the table. The figures relate to casualties in personal injury road accidents reported to the police.
	
		
			  Cyclist Casualties on Urban and Rural Roads, by Vehicle Involved in an Accident: 2003-05 
			  Accidents involving:  2003  2004  2005 
			  Motor vehicle 
			 Urban Fatal 58 67 65 
			  Serious 1,644 1,537 1,628 
			  Slight 12,041 11,877 11,787 
			 Rural Fatal 46 52 65 
			  Serious 479 477 432 
			  Slight 2,170 2,063 2,083 
			  
			  No motor vehicle 
			 Urban Fatal 60 73 73 
			  Serious 1,739 1,635 1,728 
			  Slight 12,352 12,186 12,023 
			 Rural Fatal 54 61 75 
			  Serious 552 538 484 
			  Slight 2,258 2,138 2,173 
			  
			  Two-wheeled motor vehicle 
			 Urban Fatal 2 2 2 
			  Serious 37 41 30 
			  Slight 234 225 217 
			 Rural Fatal 0 0 3 
			  Serious 8 14 13 
			  Slight 56 38 47

Cycling Accidents

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have  (a) died and  (b) received serious head injuries as a result of a cycling accident in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of fatalities in personal injury road accidents reported to the police involving cyclists is given in the table.
	
		
			  Fatalities in accidents involving a cyclist, Great Britain, 1996-2005 
			   Number 
			 1996 209 
			 1997 192 
			 1998 164 
			 1999 184 
			 2000 138 
			 2001 141 
			 2002 138 
			 2003 120 
			 2004 139 
			 2005 157 
		
	
	The Department does not collect information on the type of injuries sustained during personal injury road accidents, and cannot identify serious head injuries.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements for conducting tests and keeping proper records have to be in place before he will grant his approval to the appointment of delegated examiners.

Stephen Ladyman: Before an organisation is approved to use delegated examiners it is visited by the local Supervising Driving Examiner. This is to confirm that all the necessary arrangements are in place to ensure that driving tests are conducted fairly and properly and under similar conditions to those conducted by DSA's own examiners.
	Delegated examiners are required to submit monthly returns to DSA including pass and fail statistics and the number of pass certificates and driving test reports issued. They are also required to notify the Agency if they have not conducted any tests during the month.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the Driver Standards Agency has a dedicated team of people who supervise the operations of Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners.

Stephen Ladyman: The Driving Standards Agency's (DSA) sector managers are responsible for supervising delegated examiners. All sector managers are supervising driving examiners who undertake this quality assurance work as part of their general standards maintenance duties. DSA has 38 sector managers in post.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in the Driver Standards Agency work solely on conducting supervised Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiner check tests.

Stephen Ladyman: None. The 38 sector managers in the Driving Standards Agency undertake this quality assurance work as part of their general standards maintenance duties.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether research has been undertaken by his Department into the effectiveness and safety of Passenger Carrying Vehicle delegated examiners conducting tests.

Stephen Ladyman: No research has been undertaken.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when passenger carrying vehicle delegated examiners were first introduced.

Stephen Ladyman: Delegated examiners for the passenger carrying transport industry were introduced by a predecessor to the Department for Transport at least 30 years ago. Responsibility for the scheme passed to the Driving Standards Agency when the Agency was established in September 1990.

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what fee is charged by the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) to train a passenger carrying vehicle (PCV) delegated examiner; and what income DSA has earned from training PCV delegated examiners in each of the last three financial years.

Stephen Ladyman: The charge for each full four-week course is £4,000 per trainee. Trainees who need to repeat only part of the course pay a proportional fee.
	The income generated from delegated PCV examiner training fees in each of the last three financial years was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 29,000 
			 2004-05 34,000 
			 2005-06 49,000

Delegated Examiners

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many actual supervised (check) driving tests the Driving Standards Agency undertook on passenger carrying vehicle delegated examiners in each the last three financial years; and how many tests were cancelled in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: 78 supervisory tests were conducted during the period 2005-06. No data about supervisory tests were collected before that time.
	No supervisory tests have been cancelled.

Driver Numbers

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of drivers aged  (a) 18 to 21 and  (b) over 60 years in (i) 1980, (ii) 1990 and (iii) 2005 expressed (A) as a number and (B) as a proportion of the driving population.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table gives the number of people aged 18 to 21 and over 60 who hold a full driving licence and the proportion of the total number of licence holders in these age groups in 1985-86, 1989-91 and 2004, based on data from the National Travel Survey.
	No survey was undertaken in 1980. Only aggregated information is available for 1989-91. Figures for 2005 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Number of full driving licence holders and proportion of total licence holders aged 18 to 21 years and over 60 years 
			   1985-86  1989-91  2004 
			  Estimated number of licence holders (million)
			 18-21 1.6 1.9 1.1 
			 Over 60 4.1 4.9 7.0 
			 
			  Percentage of total number of licence holders
			 18-21 7 7 3 
			 Over 60 17 18 22

Driving Licence Directive

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department has received on the second EC Directive on driving licences, 91/439/EEC.

Stephen Ladyman: The second EC Directive on driving licences, 91/439/EEC, which was implemented in Great Britain on 1 January 1997, covers a very wide range of subjects relating to driving licensing matters. The Department for Transport receives many enquiries and representations on matters relating to the provisions of this directive.

Driving Safety Forward

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to date is of the Driving Standards Agency's Driving Safety Forward agenda.

Stephen Ladyman: Cost to date of the Driving Safety Forward project is £349,978.70 (excluding VAT) paid to the Agency's consultants, Symbia.
	This excludes costs for staff time which have not been apportioned specifically to the project.

Driving Safety Forward

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport why there was no competitive tender for the contract for the Driving Safety Forward agenda; and how EU procurement rules were complied with in this instance.

Stephen Ladyman: Competitive tenders for the organisational review consultancy were invited from "OGC Buying.Solutions'" framework contractors. Seven tenders were received.
	"OGC Buying.Solutions'" framework contracts have already been advertised and awarded in accordance with EU Procurement Directives.

Driving Safety Forward

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the end date is for the contract with Symbia Ltd. for the Driver Standards Agency's Driving Safety Forward agenda.

Stephen Ladyman: In accordance with the latest contract variation, the end date of the contract with Symbia Ltd. is 29 September 2006.

Driving Standards Agency

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) consultants and  (b) contractors have been employed by the Driving Standards Agency in each of the last three financial years; what type of work each carried out; and how much was spent on each in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: A table has been placed in the Library which shows information about consultants employed by the Driving Standards Agency in the last three financial years.
	Providing the requested information about contractors employed by the Driving Standards Agency would entail disproportionate costs and so is not included.

Driving Tests

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average waiting time for a driving test was  (a) in England and  (b) broken down by (i) region and (ii) test centre in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: Available figures for number of weeks waiting time nationally, and in each DSA region, in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			  Number of weeks 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 London — 7.5 11.5 11.0 7.3 
			 Midlands — 8.6 10.2 8.8 5.8 
			 Northern — 8.4 10.1 7.8 5.3 
			 Scotland — 6.7 6.0 5.6 6.2 
			 Wales — 6.7 7.7 6.5 5.8 
			 National 6.8 7.8 9.6 8.4 6.0 
		
	
	Figures broken down by DSA region in 2001-02 are not available. Such figures, average waiting times for England as a whole, and for individual test centres, could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, sets of tables showing waiting times at each centre during the same week in late March of each of the last five years have been placed in the Library.

EU Directives

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff are working on implementing and administering EU directives, regulations and policies in his Department;
	(2)  what the cost to his Department was of implementing and administering EU directives, regulations and policies in 2005-06.

Stephen Ladyman: Implementation and administration of EU directives, regulations and policies is an important part of the work of the Department for Transport and we seek to do this in a timely and efficient way consistent with the principles of better regulation. Implementation and administration of EU policy is generally carried out by staff as part of their wider work and activity is not broken down in this way. The information requested could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

First Capital Connect (Cheap Day Returns)

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he was first informed of the plans of First Capital Connect to prevent use of cheap day return tickets on former Thameslink services serving Hertfordshire; what representations he made to First Capital Connect about these plans; and whether he took these plans into account in his decision to award the relevant franchise to First Capital Connect.

Derek Twigg: The First Capital Connect bid included a proposal to restrict the use of day return fares during the evening peak on certain routes. Day returns are fares that are not regulated and it is for operators to decide whether to offer them, at what price and with what restrictions.
	All proposals in franchise bids are assessed in their deliverability and their compatibility with current fares policy.

Foreign Officers (Competency Certificates)

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that there are adequate controls on issuing certificates of equivalent competency for foreign officers serving on UK ships.

Stephen Ladyman: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to establish a working group, including representatives from the shipping industry and trade unions, to examine these issues.

Free Bus Travel

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding the Government are providing to West Lancashire district council to provide free bus travel for  (a) older and  (b) disabled persons; and whether it plans to use all of this funding to provide free travel.

Gillian Merron: The funding for concessionary fares is provided through revenue support grant which is unhypothecated; therefore the funding for concessionary fares is not separately identified. It is for local authorities to deicide on their overall funding priorities based on their judgment of local need and circumstances.
	Pensioners and disabled people in England have had an entitlement to free off-peak local bus travel, from April 2006, which will be extended in April 2008 to free off-peak bus travel across the country.

Government Car and Despatch Agency

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of cars owned by the Government Car and Despatch Agency come with air conditioning as standard.

Stephen Ladyman: 99.04 per cent. of the Government Car and Despatch Agency's car fleet has air conditioning as standard.

Great Barford By-pass

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the original estimate of cost was for the Great Barford by-pass; and what the anticipated outturn of expenditure is.

Stephen Ladyman: The original estimated cost of the scheme at TPI entry in 1998 was £25 million and excluded VAT, 'optimism bias' projected inflation and revising costs in line with the road construction price index.
	Following the application of these Treasury Green Book principles in April 2003, the costs of schemes submitted for TPI entry approval have been reported including the above items. The estimated cost for the A421 was then adjusted to £37 million. A budget increase to £58 million was approved by Ministers prior to start of works.

Highways Expenditure

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total expenditure on highways in Haltemprice and Howden constituency was in each of the last two financial years; and what the average figure was per constituency in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: Expenditure on highways (both by local authorities and the Highways Agency) cannot be disaggregated to constituency level except at disproportionate cost.

Illegal Drugs (Driving)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many motorists killed in road accidents in each of the last five years had traces of illegal drugs in their bodies.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not available. A study of fatal accident victims during the period 1996-2000 showed that in a sample of 779 drivers and riders killed, 17 per cent. had traces of illegal drugs. In 8 per cent. of the sample the drug detected was cannabis, traces of which remain detectable in the body long after consumption.

Illegal Drugs (Driving)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of motorists who drove with illegal drugs in their bodies in the last 12 months.

Stephen Ladyman: No such estimate is made by the Department. A 2004 European Commission study "Impaired motorists: methods of roadside testing and assessment for licensing" co-funded by member states, examined the prevalence of illegal drugs in drivers. The summary of the results of the UK element of that study are at www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_rdsafety/documents/page/dft_rdsafety_611649-03.hcsp#P58_ 5194. The full report is at www.immortal.or.at/

Light Rail Procurement

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to publish the Government's guidance on light rail procurement.

Derek Twigg: We hope to publish guidance on light rail later this year.

London Underground

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of safety measures on the London Underground network in relation to protection against the threat of terrorism.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 17 July 2006
	The Department for Transport keeps the preventative transport security measures we require under regular review. Industry implementation of the measures is subject to an ongoing programme of compliance monitoring and enforcement by DFT inspectors.

M25

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the concrete surface of the M25 between junctions 8 and 9 is to be replaced with quieter surfacing.

Stephen Ladyman: The M25 between junctions 8 and 9 will not require resurfacing for maintenance needs within the period of the Agency's current five year forward programme. However when it does need to be resurfaced a quieter surfacing will be used as a matter of course.

Major Roads Projects

Dawn Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the forecast costs are of each Highways Agency major roads project;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to tackle the effects of increasing construction material and energy prices on major transport projects.

Stephen Ladyman: The Chief Executive of the Highways Agency wrote to the Transport Select Committee in April 2006 with information on the latest ministerially approved budgets for major road schemes. I have placed the same data in the Library. Since April the following changes have been approved:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Previous approved budget cost  Latest approved budget cost 
			 M25 J12-15 Widening 120 127 
			 A47 Thorney Bypass 27 28 
			 A66 Temple Sowerby and Improvement at Winderwath 39 40 
			 M40/A404 Handy Cross Junction Improvement 14 13 
			 A66 Greta Bridge to Stephen Bank Improvement 9 10 
			 A66 Long Newton Junction 8 12 
			 A57/A628 Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass 103 106 
			 A590 High and Low Newton Bypass 22 35 
			 A2 Bean-Cobham Phase 2 101 120 
			 A2/A282 Dartford Improvement 72 122 
		
	
	In addition, on 20 July the Secretary of State's announcement on the Inspector's Report and scheme orders for the A3 Hindhead Improvement noted that the latest estimate for that scheme is £370.9 million.
	The Chief Executive noted in his letter to the Select Committee that the cost estimates were being reviewed, principally to take account of construction inflation.
	The Secretary of State has now asked Mike Nichols, Chairman of the Nichols Group, to review the Highways Agency approach to cost estimating and project management, and to make recommendations, including on how the agency should best assess, monitor and report on risks to its cost estimates. He will report in the autumn.

Major Roads Projects

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the economic effects of the implementation of the published scheme for improvements to the A303 Stonehenge in the first year after construction.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency's economic analysis of the A303 Stonehenge scheme is based on an assumed start of construction in 2008. On this assumption, it is estimated that in the first year after construction (2013) of the published scheme there would be travel time savings of between £3.495 million at low growth and £6.317 million at high growth. In addition, there would be safety benefits (resulting from a reduction in accidents) of between £2.035 million at low growth and £2.211 million at high growth.

Motorway Service Areas

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will publish a consultation document on regulations governing motorway service areas.

Stephen Ladyman: I have asked the Highways Agency to undertake a review of policy on roadside facilities, including motorway service areas. As part of the review process we shall be carrying out a public consultation exercise. It is anticipated that this consultation will commence shortly.

Oil Handling Facilities

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanism is used to grant consent to new oil handling facilities  (a) within harbour authority areas and  (b) elsewhere in UK internal and territorial waters.

Stephen Ladyman: There is no single mechanism for the granting of consent to new oil handling facilities. There are a range of possible consent regimes for such facilities, dependant upon where they are, whether there are new works involved and the extent to which there are existing powers available to the authorities involved.

Oil Spills (Contingency Plans)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the comments received in response to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's consultation on oil spill contingency plans covering ship-to-ship transfers of oil in the Firth of Forth were categorised as not relevant; what proportion of such comments related to the effects of oil spill plan amendments in combination with effects of the proposed transfers; whether these comments will be made available to Forth Ports to assist them in assessing the transfer proposals under regulation 3 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994; and whether these comments will be published.

Stephen Ladyman: This information was placed on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency website on the 14 July 2006 in the form of a Responses Consultation Table and a Summary Analysis of Consultee Responses. The website address for these documents is: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-guidance-requlation/mcga-consultations/mcga-current_consultations/mcga-consultations-sts_forth/mcga-consultations-sts_outcome.htm
	All comments relevant to the consultation process have been included in these documents.

Oil Spills (Contingency Plans)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the timetable is for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to report to him following its consultation on  (a) the implications for European wildlife sites of the proposed changes to Forth Ports oil contingency plans and  (b) the other documents on which comment was invited in connection with ship-to-ship transfers of oil in the Firth of Forth; and what mechanism is proposed for making the findings public.

Stephen Ladyman: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced on 14 July 2006 its intention to approve the Oil Spill Contingency Plan covering Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfers in the Firth of Forth submitted by the harbour authority, and the harbour authority's proposed amendments to the overarching Clearwater Forth contingency plan, subject to a number of specified changes being made.
	Concurrent with this announcement documents were placed on the MCA website. These included an assessment of the implications of the Firth of Forth STS transfer Oil Spill Contingency Plan in conjunction with the Clearwater Forth Plan for designated nature conservation sites, a summary analysis of consultee comments, a consultee table and a copy of the letter sent to the harbour authority (Forth Ports) in which the specified changes were set out. The website address for these documents is: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4 mca/mcga-guidance-regulation/mcga-consultations/mcga-current_consultations/mcga-consultations-sts_ forth/mcga-consultations-sts_outcome.htm

Oil Spills (Contingency Plans)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many responses have been made by  (a) statutory bodies,  (b) non-governmental and community organisations and  (c) private individuals to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's consultation on ship-to-ship transfers of oil in the Firth of Forth.

Stephen Ladyman: This information was placed on the Maritime and Coastguard Agency website on the 14 July 2006 in the form of a Responses Consultation Table and a Summary Analysis of Consultee Responses. The website address for these documents is: http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/mcga-quidance-requlation/mcga-consultations/mcga-current_ consultations/mcga-consultations-sts_forth/mcga-consultations-sts_out come.htm

Professional Drivers

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes he plans to make to the existing regulations in respect of the working hours of professional drivers; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: A new, directly applicable, EU regulation on drivers' hours has recently been adopted by the EU institutions—it was published in the Official Journal in April 2006 and will, for the most part, come into force in April 2007.
	We will consult later this year on the amendments that will need to be made to domestic legislation to facilitate compliance with the new EU regulation. These amendments will adopt all of the national derogations available in the new EU regulation (without any additional restrictions), apart from the newly available derogation for specialised vehicles transporting money and/or valuables—in Article 13.1.(m). We do not intend to adopt this derogation because there is no obvious case to exempt these operations which currently take place within the scope of the existing drivers' hours rules without any apparent difficulties.
	The working time of mobile workers (basically drivers, crew and other travelling staff) operating on vehicles subject to the EU regulation on drivers' hours is governed by the European Road Transport Working Time Directive 2002/15/EC. A review of the UK's implementing regulations is due to commence later this year.

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which railway lines in England and Wales are under consideration for reopening; and what his policy is on the reopening of railway lines.

Derek Twigg: In July next year we will publish our High Level Output Specification. This will set out the railway outputs the Government wish to buy in terms of capacity, safety and reliability and the funding to support this for the next five years. It is for the industry to determine what inputs are needed to deliver this.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what solutions he has identified to overcrowding on the railways.

Derek Twigg: We are currently seeing huge growth in the railways, with more than a billion passengers carried last year, and this is set to continue. To help meet this challenge we are investing record amounts in the network.
	Work is being undertaken to improve timetabling, infrastructure maintenance and renewals and other factors that can impact on reliable delivery of train services, which in turn will impact on crowding levels. We are also considering different measures to increase the capacity of the network, from train layout and length, turnaround times and infrastructure improvements. Major investment programmes such as the west coast main line modernisation project have already seen capacity improvements.
	It is for the train operating companies to take decisions about the deployment of rolling stock. We will continue to review train counts and train plans to assess whether resources are being deployed effectively.

Register of Driver Training

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to date is of the development of the new Integrated Register of Driver Training system; and how much of the expenditure went to Capita.

Stephen Ladyman: The software development cost to date for the Integrated Register of Driver Trainers is £1,140,000 including VAT.
	We are negotiating the costs of other variations to existing requirements and the additional costs arising from the extension of the project timescales and expect the total software development cost to be £2,400,000 including VAT.
	All of this expenditure will go to Capita.

Register of Driver Training

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) change of control notices and  (b) variation orders have been issued by the Driver Standards Agency in the development of the new Integrated Register of Driver Training system; and what the cost of each is.

Stephen Ladyman: 16 change control notices (CCNs) have been approved to date at a total cost of £332,470 including VAT. We are negotiating the costs of other variations and will issue further CCNs. The following table lists the cost and the number of individual variations covered in each of the CCNs agreed to date:
	
		
			  CCN  Change Requests/Variations (Number)  Cost (excluding VAT) (£) 
			 1 21 83,687 
			 2 3 25,097 
			 3 23 15,015 
			 4 7 4,620 
			 5 7 7,095 
			 6 1 4,950 
			 7 1 4,785 
			 9 1 2,250 
			 10 2 5,940 
			 11 1 17,490 
			 12 (1)— 14,450 
			 15 8 33,568 
			 16 3 8,279 
			 17 7 26,338 
			 18 1 2,008 
			 19 5 27,381 
			 Total  282,953 
			 (1) Various security-related variations.

Register of Driver Training

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) estimated cost of and  (b) timetable for developing the Integrated Register of Driver Training is; and whether each has changed since the project was established.

Stephen Ladyman: The estimated software development cost for the Integrated Register of Driver Trainers is £2,400,000 including VAT. The initial estimate when the project was established was £1,090,000 including VAT but this was based upon a very basic definition of the system. This definition changed significantly as the detailed requirements were identified during the course of the project.
	The system was initially expected to be go live in August 2005. The first three registers, ADI, LGV and Pass Plus actually went live in March 2006. We expect the ORDIT and Fleet registers to be completed during quarter 3 and the remaining CBT register in quarter 4 of this year.

Road Schemes

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) original estimated cost of and  (b) most recent cost estimates are for (i) Highways Agency schemes in the Targeted Programme of Improvements and (ii) all local authority schemes approved through the local transport plans.

Stephen Ladyman: For Highways Agency schemes, I refer the hon. Member to my answer today to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather).
	I have placed information relating to major local authority schemes (generally those over £5 million) in the Library.

Road Schemes

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which road schemes were commenced by the Highways Agency in the Eastern Region in each year from 1999-2000 to 2005-06; and what the  (a) original estimated cost,  (b) final outturn cost,  (c) original completion date and  (d) actual completion date was of each project.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table lists all major road schemes, located in the Eastern Region, that have started works each year since 2000-01. In addition to the major projects detailed, the Highways Agency delivers many maintenance and smaller scheme improvements costing less than £5 million. The Highways Agency does not hold information for these schemes in the requested format.
	
		
			  Scheme  TPI entry cost (£ million)  Total estimated (£ million)  Projected completion date at TPI entry  Actual/latest estimated completion date 
			  Schemes starting construction in 2000-01 
			 A6 Clapham Bypass 31 44 2002-03 December 2002 
			 A11 Roudham Heath-Attleborough improvement 27 50 2002-03 March 2003 
			  
			  Schemes starting construction in 2001-02 
			 A120 Stansted-Braintree improvement 92 105 2004-05 July 2004 
			  
			  Schemes starting construction in 2002-03 
			 A10 Wadesmill-Colliers End 24 40 2003-04 October 2004 
			  
			  Schemes starting construction in 2003-04 
			 None — — — — 
			  
			  Schemes starting construction in 2004-05 
			 A14 Rookery Crossroads 5 14 2004-05 March 2006 
			 A47 Thorney Bypass 15 25 2008-09 December 2005 
			 A421 Great Barford Bypass(1) 25 58 2004-05 August 2006 
			  
			  Schemes starting construction in 2005-06 
			 A11 Attleborough Bypass(1) 14 29 2007-08 2006-07 
			 M1 J6A-10 Widening(1) 241 289 2007-08 2008-09 
			 A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick improvement(1) 22 55 2006-07 2007-08 
			 (1 )Under construction 
		
	
	This information is not available for the A1 Tempsford Junction improvement as it is not a scheme within the Targeted Programme Improvements. It was, however, the only other major scheme in the Eastern Region, to have started works since 1999-2000. This scheme was completed in October 2001.

Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) harbours and  (b) oil handling facilities are subject to the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998; and what proportion are located within statutory harbour authority areas.

Stephen Ladyman: There are 167 Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998 Oil Spill Contingency Plans approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
	159 of the 167 plans are harbour authority plans.
	Eight of the 167 plans are stand alone oil handling facility plans within a harbour authority.
	The majority of the 167 harbour authority plans incorporate oil handling facilities plans within their area.

Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how proposals to regulate Ship-to-Ship Transfers of oil and other cargoes in UK territorial waters will be implemented in harbour authority areas.

Stephen Ladyman: My officials are working on draft legislation which would control bunker transfers and Ship to Ship Transfers (STS) of oil or other hazardous and noxious substances carried as cargo in the UK's territorial sea and internal waters. It is not intended to apply the regulations to cover operations in statutory harbour areas.

Stopping Distances

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next expects to review the stopping distances quoted within the Highway Code; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department is currently considering major revisions to the Highway Code, following the public consultation which ended on 12 May 2006. We intend to publish the new edition of the code in spring 2007, subject to parliamentary approval. Stopping distances quoted in the code will be considered as part of the revision.

Street Lighting

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of electricity for street lighting on national roads supervised by the Highways Agency was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: For the financial year ending 31 March 2006 the gross spend, including VAT, on street lighting on the roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible, was £9.1 million.

Thameslink 2000

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the progress of the Thameslink 2000 project.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department for Transport and the Department for Communities and Local Government are currently considering the Inspector's report of the public inquiry held last year into the Thameslink 2000 project. Decisions on the various applications made by Network Rail in relation to this project will be announced as soon as is reasonably possible.

Traffic (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total volume of traffic in the Peterborough city council area was in each year since 2001; and what the percentage change has been over that period.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table gives the information requested:
	
		
			  Estimates of traffic volume, and year-on-year percentage change, in the Peterborough city council area: 2001 to 2005 
			   All motor vehicles (million vehicle kilometres)  Year on year percentage change (percentage) 
			 2001 1,658 — 
			 2002 1,705 2.8 
			 2003 1,731 1.5 
			 2004 1,775 2.5 
			 2005 1,760 -0.8

Transport Economic Schemes (Cornwall and Scilly)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what expenditure on transport infrastructure schemes to support economic regeneration his Department is considering in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; what the schemes are; how much of the expenditure will come from public funds; and when he expects decisions to be made.

Gillian Merron: The Department is currently considering two proposals for funding transport infrastructure put forward by Cornwall to support economic regeneration. The first concerns the transfer of RAF St. Mawgan from a military to a civilian airport (Newquay airport). The second is a new combined freight and passenger vessel to operate between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly, plus harbour improvements at Penzance and St. Mary's.
	Funding for these schemes is subject to them satisfying the Department's funding approval requirements, but currently the requested DfT contribution for each scheme is approximately £21.4 million for the airport and £26.5 million for the Isles of Scilly project. Decisions will be taken on completion of the appraisal process. We are aware of Cornwall's' need for a decision soon on the Newquay airport and outstanding issues are being discussed.

Transport Safety

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transportation Safety; what note was kept of each meeting; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State has not met the Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety (PACTS). The Minister of State gave the ministerial response to a PACTS Westminster lecture in December last year and addressed a joint reception organised by my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, North (Ms Keeble) and PACTS on 5 July. He also met with my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Kidney) who was accompanied by the executive director of PACTS in May, to discuss the Road Safety Bill.
	A note of that meeting is kept by the Department.

UK Seafarers

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to increase the number of UK seafarers working regularly at sea and the number of new entrant trainees;
	(2)  when the Government will make a decision on linking tonnage paid by the shipping companies to the employment of British officers.

Stephen Ladyman: I am considering the advice of the Shipping Task Force sub-group that was formed to propose measures to improve the maritime employment environment. The advice of the sub-group includes measures linked to both the training and employment of UK seafarers. I will make an announcement in due course.

Vehicle Statistics (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) low emission cars,  (b) cars,  (c) sports utility vehicles and  (d) motorcycles are owned per person in London.

Stephen Ladyman: The following table is derived from DVLA data on vehicle registrations. It provides details of vehicles registered to keepers located in Greater London, compared with Greater London's population aged 17 or over. Some of the vehicles included, especially company cars, will be registered to London addresses but not driven in London.
	
		
			  Vehicles registered per 1,000 adults in Greater London at the end of 2005 
			   Number 
			 Cars: under 120 g/km CO2 2 
			 All cars 434 
			 Motorcycles 14 
		
	
	The DVLA vehicles database does not identify sports utility vehicles as a specific vehicle type, therefore no data can be provided to answer  (c).

DEFENCE

Lebanon

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contribution he expects British armed forces to make to the Prime Minister's proposed international force to be sent to Lebanon.

Adam Ingram: Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to those members of the armed forces, and their partners and families, who have contributed in any way to the evacuation of UK and other nationals from Lebanon over recent days. The evacuation was conducted with the utmost professionalism, under difficult conditions, with the safety of evacuees paramount at all times. I should also like to convey my thanks to those members of the FCO and the MOD who have been involved in the evacuation. I offer all those involved my personal congratulations on a job well done.
	Secondly, on the subject of international support for Lebanon, I can tell the hon. Member that plans are under development, both in terms of a peacekeeping deployment, and in terms of the humanitarian response. Specifically, discussions have been held with international partners including France and the United States, on the subject of an international force. Crucially, whatever is proposed will need the support of both the Lebanese Government and Israel. If an international force is to be deployed, HMG will consider how best we can support the international community in that effort.

African Conflicts

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps British military personnel are taking to help to prevent conflicts in Africa.

Adam Ingram: UK armed forces personnel are playing an important role in helping prevent conflict in Africa, by building peace support capacity and teaching the principles of good governance and the democratic accountability of armed forces. British military personnel are providing training and technical assistance to the African Union, to African regional organisations and peace support centres and bilaterally to key partner countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, in order to help build long-term conflict prevention and peacekeeping capacity.

Kosovo

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the involvement of British troops in the NATO deployment in Kosovo.

Adam Ingram: The UK contribution to the NATO KFOR mission is around 180 troops, providing a highly effective force able to deploy across the whole of Kosovo. We remain committed to supporting NATO as they work alongside the UN Administrative Mission in Kosovo and the Kosovo Police Service. All of those responsible for security are working closely to maintain a safe and secure environment during the ongoing Final Status process.

Forces Accommodation

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the quality of maintenance of forces accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Government attach a high priority to the quality of life of Service personnel and their families and are committed to improving and maintaining the quality of accommodation provided to them to the highest standards.
	Service Families Accommodation is graded into four categories for condition, and I can tell the House that 95 per cent. of our housing stock in Great Britain falls into the top two of those categories. We are aware that more needs to be done to improve our housing stock, and it is for that reason we have introduced Prime Contracting to cover all repairs and maintenance. One contract replaces 22 previous contracts. This should lead to improved standards of work and responsiveness and much higher levels of satisfaction for families.
	For our single Service personnel, we have already delivered over 10,000 new single living bedspaces with en-suite facilities, and a further 21,000 are due to be completed by early 2008. This will provide a vastly improved estate.
	In addition, I am also pleased to announce today that the MOD is entering into negotiations to extend the Single Living Accommodation Modernisation Project by a further 5 years from 2007, which is a further illustration of our commitment to improve the living standards for our single personnel. This second Phase will provide a minimum of 3,000 additional bedspaces and create a minimum of 100 apprenticeships within the Prime Contractor's supply chain.

Nuclear Deterrent

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is the Government's policy to maintain the nuclear deterrent in the long-term.

Des Browne: We made it clear in our manifesto at the 2005 General Election that we are committed to retaining the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent. The Prime Minister has made clear that this commitment applies for the planned life of the current system. Decisions on the position beyond that point will be made later this year.

Trident

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how long it takes to target Trident missiles when at sea.

Des Browne: All the United Kingdom's Trident missiles have been de-targeted since 1994. The missiles can be targeted in sufficient time to meet any foreseeable requirement.

Trident

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civil servants listed are working on Trident and nuclear weapons policy, broken down by grade.

Des Browne: holding answer 20 July 2006
	There are nine full-time civil servants in the Ministry of Defence working on Trident and nuclear weapons policy: 1 x Senior Civil Servant, 3 x Band B1s, 2 x Band B2s, 2 x Band Cs and 1 x Band E. They consult and engage others, as necessary.

Trident

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason a discussion of a replacement for the Trident nuclear system was not included in the section on future capabilities of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, HC 1394.

Des Browne: The Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06 is a retrospective document accounting for the Department's use of the resources Parliament authorised for Defence against the performance baseline in the Departmental Plan 2005-09 reflecting the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review.
	As we said in paragraph 18 of the report, work has now started to prepare for decisions on the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent beyond the planned life of the current system. The section of the Annual Report and Accounts on future capabilities deals with major equipment projects which have passed the Main Gate investment approval point. It did not deal with any replacement of Trident, as no decisions on that have yet been taken in detail or principle, and hence there was and still is no project in that respect.

Trident

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research work has been carried out to improve the  (a) reliability,  (b) performance,  (c) longevity and  (d) safety of the UK's Trident nuclear warhead.

Des Browne: Since the introduction into service of the current Trident warhead in 1994, no research has been undertaken to improve its performance. Work continues, however, under the stockpile stewardship programme at AWE to underwrite the continued reliability, longevity, and safety of our Trident warheads.

Army Recruits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits have joined the Army in the last two years, broken down by region of origin.

Tom Watson: Over the last two financial years 21,880 recruits to the Regular Army enlisted nationally ranging from 380 in Northern Ireland to 3,650 in the North East. In my hon. Friend's own region, the West Midlands, he should be proud that 2,150 joined. I will place full details in the Library.

Armoured Vehicles

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with defence manufacturers concerning armoured vehicles capable of withstanding improvised explosive devices.

Des Browne: I announced an urgent review of protected vehicles for operations on 26 June. Today in a written statement I confirmed that this review had highlighted the requirement for a protected vehicle with capabilities between those of the heavily armoured Warrior and the light and manoeuvrable Snatch Land Rover. As the statement explained we shall buy around 100 additional Vector vehicles, up-armour a further 70 430 series armoured personnel carriers and introduce around 100 Cougar wheeled armoured vehicles.

Armoured Vehicles

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the availability of UK armoured vehicles in theatres of war.

Des Browne: As at 16 July, the availability of armoured vehicles deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan generally exceeded our targets.

Armoured Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times armoured vehicles broke down in Iraq between January and May 2006, broken down by vehicle type.

Adam Ingram: We keep records of vehicle availability, rather than each breakdown, to allow for more efficient fleet management. This also provides a clearer picture for commanders on the ground of the assets at their disposal. Between January and May 2006 vehicle availability for UK forces in Iraq was:
	
		
			  Vehicle  Availability  (Percentage) 
			 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank and Challenger 2 Armoured Recovery Vehicle 77 
			 Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle and Armoured Fighting Vehicle 432 81 
			 Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) 85 
			 Saxon Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier 93 
			 Snatch Protected Patrol Vehicle 90

Iraq

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security situation in southern Iraq.

Des Browne: The four provinces covered by Multi-National Division (South East) remain relatively quiet compared to other areas of Iraq, accounting for around 4 per cent. of all attacks. The security situation in Basra, however, continues to cause concern. To address the problems in the province, the Iraqi Government have announced a security plan for Basra. I discussed the plan with Prime Minister Maliki this morning. The plan is in its early stages but has already resulted in increased presence of Iraqi security forces—with more to come.
	Elsewhere in MND(South East) the security situation is more positive. Our progress with security and training of the Iraqi security forces was a factor in making Al Muthanna province the first where responsibility for security was handed over to Iraqi control. I expect Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces to follow suit before the end of this year, once the conditions on the ground are right.

Iraq

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how much ordnance was used by British forces in Iraq in each of the last six months, broken down by type;
	(2)  how much and what type of ordnance was used by British forces in Iraq in the past six months.

Des Browne: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Routine training accounted for the majority of most ammunition natures expended in Iraq by British forces. The following ammunition, broken down by type, was expended in each month, between January and June 2006:
	
		
			  Ordnance type  Explanation of use  January  February  March  April  May 
			 Small Arms Ammunition Personal weapons and machine guns 216,373 133,924 163,477 150,989 314,466 
			 Pyrotechnics E.g. Signal equipment and flares 829 67 1,086 1,126 606 
			 Hand Grenades E.g. High explosive or smoke grenades 774 733 564 267 760 
			 Mortar Bombs Both 51mm and 81mm calibre 803 30 906 864 738 
			 30mm Calibre Rounds Main armament on Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle (Rarden Cannon) 240 420 0 0 1,065 
			 Main Battle Tank Natures Main armament on Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks 0 0 0 189 0 
			 Anti-Riot Natures Baton Rounds 829 0 1,571 743 1,307 
			 Explosive Ordnance Disposal E.g. Demolition charges and controlled explosions 2,918 0 0 1,965 656 
			 Anti Tank Mines Used as high explosive donor charges in controlled explosions 3 0 0 1 0 
			 Engineer Natures Explosive cartridges for construction tools 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Smoke Dischargers Vehicle mounted smoke launchers 21 0 0 0 0 
			 EPW2 GPS guided 1,000lb bomb 0 0 0 0 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Ordnance type  Explanation of use  June  Training  Operational use  Total 
			 Small Arms Ammunition Personal weapons and machine guns 104,531 1,039,094 44,666 1,083,760 
			 Pyrotechnics E.g. Signal equipment and flares 360 598 3,476 4,074 
			 Hand Grenades E.g. High explosive or smoke grenades 344 2,409 1,033 3,442 
			 Mortar Bombs Both 51mm and 81mm calibre 273 3,424 190 3,614 
			 30mm Calibre Rounds Main armament on Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle (Rarden Cannon) 405 60 2,070 2,130 
			 Main Battle Tank Natures Main armament on Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks 0 189 0 189 
			 Anti-Riot Natures Baton Rounds 385 4,244 591 4,835 
			 Explosive Ordnance Disposal E.g. Demolition charges and controlled explosions 3,170 78 8,631 8,709 
			 Anti Tank Mines Used as high explosive donor charges in controlled explosions 0 0 4 4 
			 Engineer Natures Explosive cartridges for construction tools 0 0 2 2 
			 Smoke Dischargers Vehicle mounted smoke launchers 91 75 37 112 
			 EPW2 GPS guided 1000 lb bomb 0 0 1 1

Iraq

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the aims are of the provincial reconstruction team in Basra; and what he expects the team to achieve.

Des Browne: Provincial reconstruction teams aim to provide support to build the capacity of Iraqi institutions at a provincial level.
	The Basra team does this through coordinating the delivery of UK and international development and reconstruction assistance to southern Iraq; further development of the capacity of the provincial government; and assistance in the smooth transition of responsibility for security in southern Iraq to the Iraqi civil authorities.

Afghanistan

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in training Afghan security forces in peacekeeping.

Des Browne: Over 28,000 Afghan troops and over 30,000 police have been trained and equipped, although their training does not focus specifically on peacekeeping activities.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which countries have troops operating under the international security assistance force in Afghanistan; how many troops they had deployed on 10 July; and what restrictions are in place on the use of these forces.

Des Browne: As at 10 July, the following 36 countries contribute a total of around 10,000 troops to the international security assistance force (ISAF) in Afghanistan:
	Albania
	Austria
	Azerbaijan
	Belgium
	Bulgaria
	Canada
	Celand
	Croatia
	Czech Republic
	Denmark
	Estonia
	Finland
	France
	FYROM
	Germany
	Greece
	Hungary
	Ireland
	Italy
	Latvia
	Lithuania
	Luxembourg
	New Zealand
	Norway
	Poland
	Portugal
	Romania
	Slovakia
	Slovenia
	Spain
	Sweden
	Switzerland
	The Netherlands
	Turkey
	UK
	US
	I am withholding details of the caveats nations may apply to the use of their armed forces in Afghanistan as this would, or would be likely, to prejudice the safety of our armed forces and those of our allies. The nations deploying to ISAF stage 3 in the south well understand the challenging operational environment there, and the need for robust rules of engagement.

Afghanistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the adequacy of  (a) the number of Intelligence Corps personnel based in Helmand province and  (b) the resources provided to the Intelligence Corps in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: The force package deployed to Afghanistan is that recommended by the Chiefs of Staff as the right force for the task.

Afghanistan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities are available for the detention of military detainees in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: holding answer 20 July 2006
	UK armed forces have temporary holding facilities available in the south. NATO and UK policy is that detainees should either be transferred to the Afghan authorities within 96 hours, or released.

Afghanistan

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of British forces in Afghanistan's counter-narcotics campaign.

Des Browne: Troops deployed as part of the NATO-led international security assistance force (ISAF)—including British forces deployed as part of the Helmand Task Force—are authorised to provide support to Afghan counter-narcotics forces, including training, and they will help the Afghans create a secure environment in which economic development and institutional reform—both essential to the elimination of the opium industry—can take place.

Armed Forces Salaries

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints his Department has received about the administration of salaries of British armed forces personnel paid through the joint personnel administration system.

Tom Watson: The initial roll out of joint personnel administration for pay and a wide range of other administrative services has been to the Royal Air Force only, and formal complaints about aspects of the system have been received in the form of 19 items of ministerial correspondence, and some 236 complaints via the internal complaints procedure of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency. None has been received under the formal Royal Air Force redress of complaints procedure. However, the errors have reduced from 1,100 in May to 485 in June.

Africa

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government are taking to promote peace and security in Africa.

Adam Ingram: The Government are supporting the building of African conflict prevention and conflict management capacity at continent, regional and national level, in line with our wider G8 and international commitments. A key aspect of this work is UK funding and technical support for the development of an African Peace and Security Architecture under the auspices of the African Union, enhancing the capacity of Africans to lead mediation and peacekeeping within their own continent. At regional level, the Government are supporting a range of political dialogues, security sector reform programmes and civil society building initiatives designed to improve stability and security. In addition, British forces are helping develop African peace support operations capacity and are directly supporting a number of peacekeeping missions in Africa.

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Tom Watson: The only advertising campaigns undertaken by the Ministry of Defence are Armed Forces recruitment related. The information requested is not held centrally in the format requested. Details that are available are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Financial Year  Royal Navy  Royal Marines  Army  RAF 
			 2000-01 5.040 0.671 5.572 3.136 
			 2001-02 4.370 2.320 5.236 2.791 
			 2002-03 3.090 1.400 5.378 2.824 
			 2003-04 4.693 1.060 7.750 3.130 
		
	
	The naval service undertakes two main bursts of advertising activity each year, one in January and one in September/October. The RAFs main campaigns were run in August/September and December/January. The Army's recruit advertising is an all year round activity.

Aerial Vehicle Technology

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made with the development of an uninhabited aerial vehicle technology demonstrator programme.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently working towards contract for an Uninhabited Air Vehicle Technology Demonstrator Programme (TDP) jointly funded with industry as announced in the Defence Industrial Strategy.

Air Operations/Exercises

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that there are more sites where close air support operations and forward air control exercises can take place.

Tom Watson: We keep the number of sites used for training exercises under constant review.

Air Operations/Exercises

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the availability of training sites for close air support operations and forward air control exercises.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence Training areas are used for close air support and forward air control training wherever possible. Private land is also used for training as are sites overseas. We keep the number of sites used for training exercises under constant review.

Aircraft

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) fighter,  (b) training,  (c) tanker and transport,  (d) reconnaissance and  (e) maritime patrol aircraft were in service with the Royal Air Force in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: The following table gives aircraft numbers that were planned to be in service as at the end of March in each financial year (FY) shown. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		
			  Financial Year  Fighter  Training  Tanker and Transport  Reconnaissance  Maritime Patrol Aircraft 
			 1996-97 360 470 100 20 30 
			 1997-98 360 460 100 20 30 
			 1998-99 360 460 100 20 20 
			 1999-2000 330 470 100 20 20 
			 2000-01 460 460 90 20 20 
			 2001-02 510 440 90 20 20 
			 2002-03 420 440 90 20 20 
			 2003-04 420 430 90 20 20 
			 2004-05 370 420 90 20 20 
			 2005-06 380 410 90 20 20 
			  Notes:  1. Only provisional figures are available for FY 2000-01.  2. Training numbers include approximately 150 gliders each year.  3. Contracted fleets are not included.

Aircraft Carriers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what fleet tankers will be available to support each future aircraft carrier, if the in-service dates for the two new carriers are  (a) confirmed as 2012 and 2015,  (b) moved to 2015 and 2018 and  (c) postponed to 2018 and 2021.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 July 2006
	Existing Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers and/or those planned within the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability programme will support our Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF). As for all projects, the in-service dates for CVF will only be set following the main investment decision and once the dates have been approved by Ministers. As I indicated in my answer on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 1579-80W, the main investment decision has not yet been taken.

Annington Homes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the houses sold to Annington Homes have subsequently been  (a) demolished and  (b) sold to private buyers (i) in total and (ii) in Colchester.

Tom Watson: Under the terms of the 1996 Sale Agreement with Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL), houses for which this Department has no further requirement are handed back to AHL. The Ministry of Defence maintains no records of how such properties are disposed of or developed. As a private company it is entirely a matter for AHL. It is believed that the majority are sold on the open market.
	May I suggest that for further information the hon. Member may wish to write to the Chief Executive of AHL at the following address: Mr. J Hopkins, 1 James Street, London W1U 1DR.

Annington Homes

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much Annington Homes has paid to the Government for the houses it acquired from the Ministry of Defence  (a) in total and  (b) for the housing stock at Colchester.

Tom Watson: The 1996 sale of 57,428 properties in England and Wales to Annington Homes Ltd raised £1.662 billion for the Exchequer.
	Some 1,400 properties in the Colchester area were included in the sale, and were sold for £34,694,122. Of these, all but 46, which were surplus to requirements at the time, were leased back by the Ministry of Defence to house service families.

Armed Forces Personnel

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the conventions are concerning armed services regular and reserve personnel having contact with hon. Members; and when they were last circulated.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Queen's Regulations provide guidance to service personnel regarding contacts with Members of Parliament for example on handling inquiries from Members, visit requests and political activity. Queen's Regulations are publicly available and I have placed copies in the Library.
	There are no service regulations restricting the right of service personnel as citizens to write to their Member of Parliament.

Armed Forces Personnel

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1436W, on injured British servicemen (treatment), how many armed forces personnel in  (a) the Army,  (b) the RAF and  (c) the Royal Navy have been transferred to the NHS for continued medical care as a result of injuries sustained in (i) Iraq since 2003 and (ii) Afghanistan since 2002.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1942W, which stated that details of armed forces personnel who have been medically discharged from the armed forces as a result of a condition that can be attributed specifically to service in Iraq or Afghanistan and whose continued medical care has therefore been transferred to the NHS, could be obtained only by a search of the individual medical records of all personnel discharged from the armed forces since the beginning of those Operations. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	The vast majority of serving military patients in the UK requiring secondary care are treated in NHS facilities by NHS staff. I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, column 288W, which set out the number of Service personnel treated since the year 2000 at those NHS hospitals where Ministry of Defence Hospitals are hosted. It is not possible to break down these figures to show the number of patients treated for injuries sustained on particular operations. Such information is not held centrally and to obtain it would require the examination of the individual medical records of every patient. These can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality. To seek permission and then to extract the information from the records could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces Personnel

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how compensation for service personnel dismissed from the armed forces on the grounds of sexuality is assessed; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The assessment of compensation in cases where service personnel were dismissed from the armed forces on the grounds of sexual orientation depends on the facts and circumstances of each individual case, taking into account detailed schedules of loss from the claimants and the jurisprudence of the ECHR.

Armed Forces Personnel

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces who were dismissed on the grounds of their sexuality are yet to receive compensation.

Tom Watson: There are 62 claims against the Ministry of Defence from ex-Service personnel who allege that they were dismissed from the armed forces as a result of their sexual orientation that remain to be settled.

Armed Forces Personnel

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which NATO members require their troops to pay income tax when they are on active service.

Tom Watson: The Ministry of Defence does not hold the information and it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Chaplains

Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many chaplains are serving with the  (a) Royal Navy and Royal Marines,  (b) the Army and  (c) the Royal Air Force; how many in each category are (i) Christian, (ii) Jewish, (iii) Muslim, (iv) Hindu, (v) Sikh and (vi) of other religions; and what the total cost was to public funds of providing chaplaincy services in the last year for which figures are available.

Tom Watson: There are a total of 376 chaplains serving with the armed forces. The breakdown per service is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Royal Navy and Royal Marines 74 
			 Army 221 
			 RAF 76 
			 All (1)5 
			 Total 376 
			 (1) There are five chaplains who serve all three services from the following religions, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish. All are civilian chaplains and do not deploy. 
		
	
	The breakdown by religion is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Christian 371 
			 Jewish (1)1 
			 Muslim 1 
			 Hindu 1 
			 Sikh 1 
			 Buddhist 1 
			 Total 376 
			 (1) The Jewish chaplain is an honorary officiating chaplain. 
		
	
	In addition, there are 207 officiating chaplains to the forces (OCF) who are fee earners and are used by the armed forces in the United Kingdom only.
	There are also three Hindu Pandits who are engaged as locally employed civilians specifically to provide pastoral care and support to Gurkhas.
	The last available figures for the total cost to public funds for providing chaplaincy services to the armed forces are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 Uniformed Chaplains(1) 29,200,000 
			 Civilian Chaplains(2) 240,000 
			 OCF(3) 636,000 
			 Total 30,076,000 
			 (1) The figures are based on capitation rates as at October 2005.  (2) This category includes Buddhist, Hindu (including Pandits), Sikh, Muslim, and Jewish faiths. It is an estimated cost and includes travel and subsistence.  (3) Estimated costs of officiating chaplains to the forces.

Colombia

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 209W, on Colombia, what his assessment is of the current level of risk to UK personnel involved in the bespoke counter narcotics training provided to Colombian law enforcement agencies.

Adam Ingram: The risk to any personnel associated with counter narcotics activities in Columbia is potentially very high.

Corporate Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions he has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months.

Des Browne: Paragraph 5.28 of the ministerial code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Minister for Veterans will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 31 May 2006 (Ref: 03319/2006).

Tom Watson: I wrote to the hon. Member on 21 July 2006.

Counter-terrorism

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what budget has been made available to support his Department's Counter-Terrorism Science and Technology Centre at Porton Down for 2006-07.

Adam Ingram: Some £5 million has been made available in 2006-07 to support the Department's Counter-Terrorism Science and Technology Centre. Planned consumption of resources in 2006-07 will take into consideration funding already available through the MOD's research budget in support of related equipment projects to ensure value for money is achieved. Once fully established it is anticipated that the centre will attract further third party funding from other Government Departments and industry through joint projects.

Defence Planning Assumptions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a review of the Defence planning assumptions will be conducted before the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Des Browne: Defence planning assumptions are reviewed as part of the Department's routine strategic planning cycle. This work is about to begin and is planned to complete in spring 2008.

Defence Procurement Agency

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in the piloting of the operating framework for the Defence Procurement Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As stated in the Ministry of Defence's response of 7 July 2006 to the House of Commons Defence Committee's report on the Defence Industrial Strategy, the DPA has completed development work regarding the project and programme management element of the operating framework, drawing on industry best practice. This work will form the basis of a wider Acquisition Operating Framework encompassing all of the Department's acquisition business.
	From September 2006 to February 2007 we will undertake a pilot with a number of project teams from the Defence Procurement Agency and the Defence Logistics Organisation to evaluate our proposed approach to embedding project and programme best practice and to measure the benefits achieved. This will de-risk the full roll-out of the Acquisition Operating Framework which is due to commence in 2007.

Departmental Teams

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) function is and  (b) annual cost in each of the last three years was of the departmental (i) Diversity and Work Balance Team, (ii) Ethnic Monitoring Team, (iii) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Team, (iv) Disability Steering Committee Team and (v) Gender Panel; whether he has considered the merits of amalgamating these bodies into one unit; and what plans he has for their future.

Tom Watson: holding answer 19 July 2006
	The function of the Diversity and Work Life Balance (DWLB) Team is to ensure the Department complies with, and reports against, the extant and emerging UK and EU legal requirements; develop and support the implementation of associated policy and guidance for the Department's 100,000 civilians; support the achievement of a work force truly representative of the community it serves; and assist the Department in being an employer of choice through contributing to the development of a contemporary employment framework. The salary and associated costs of the DWLB Team over the past three years is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 405,911 
			 2004-05 416,320 
			 2005-06 426,728 
		
	
	The Ethnic Minorities Steering Committee (Ethnic Monitoring Team (sic)), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Forum (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Team (sic)) Disability Steering Committee and Gender Panel all essentially perform the same function. This is to support the Department taking diversity forward by providing expertise, relevant to the strand they represent, presenting an avenue for members of under-represented groups to have their issues raised and considered, and also to take the Department's message on diversity back to people within their strands. The members of the Committees, Forum and Panel are MOD employees who volunteer and perform the work in addition to their usual MOD duties, in work time. Therefore, we do not have separate cost information.
	There are no plans to amalgamate these bodies into one unit. They provide an expertise relevant to their particular diversity strand and while they continue to be effective in moving the Department's diversity agenda forward, we propose to continue with their operation.

Emission Permits

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many carbon dioxide emission permits have been allocated to military establishments; and what the actual emissions were for each military establishment included in the EU Emissions Trading scheme in its first year of operation.

Tom Watson: I can confirm 267,428 carbon dioxide emission permits were allocated to military establishments. The following table details how many carbon dioxide emission permits were allocated to each Ministry of Defence establishment, and the level of emissions during the first year (2005-06) of operation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	
		
			  Ministry of Defence Site  Annual emission permits  Actual emissions 2005 (tonnes Carbon Dioxide) 
			 RAF Lossiemouth 7,389 14,967 
			 RAF Fylingdales 42 73 
			 RAF Brize Norton 7,235 9,072 
			 RAF Wyton 3,176 3,751 
			 RAF Waddington 5,081 5,419 
			 RAF Halton 7,835 8,350 
			 RAF Lyneham 7,041 7,443 
			 Turners Generation—Fylingdales 20,882 21,371 
			 DCAE Cosford 7,445 7,519 
			 RAF High Wycombe 2,571 2,582 
			 RAF Marham 6,528 6,469 
			 RAF Aldergrove 9,005 8,227 
			 RAF Kinloss 6,135 5,588 
			 RAF Stafford 6,975 6,352 
			 RAF Cottesmore 4,882 4,412 
			 RAF Honington 4,711 4,102 
			 RAF Coningsby 4,503 3,516 
			 RAF St. Athan 11,546 7,542 
			 RNAS Culdrose 5,224 6,250 
			 HMS Collingwood 6,169 7,257 
			 RNAS Yeovilton 9,406 10,639 
			 HMS Sultan 5,204 5,110 
			 RMA Sandhurst 5,000 5,933 
			 Wattisham Airfield 4,460 5,268 
			 Prince Phillip Barracks 5,409 6,287 
			 Colchester Garrsion 7,279 7,737 
			 Aldershot Military Power Station 11,037 10,164 
			 Brompton Barracks 3,307 2,930 
			 Bicester Garrison 14,493 14,345 
			 Donnington 9,480 15,800 
			 HMNB Faslane Babcock Naval Services Ltd 18,568 20,041 
			 RNAD Coulport—Babcock Naval Services Ltd 11,059 8,229 
			 HMNB Portsmouth—Fleet Support Ltd 28,351 20,110 
			 Total 267,428 272,855

Forces Recruitment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff were recruited by the  (a) RAF and  (b) Royal Navy in each year since 1997, broken down by personnel type.

Tom Watson: Intake from civil life to the United Kingdom Regular Royal Navy and Royal Air Force broken down by Officers and other ranks and branch or trade group is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Naval Service Officer intake from civil life by branch 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Naval Service total 370 380 410 450 410 420 340 370 370 
			 Royal Navy total 340 350 370 410 350 370 310 320 320 
			 Warfare 220 220 220 220 230 220 180 180 190 
			 Engineer 50 60 80 100 70 80 60 60 60 
			 Logistics 40 30 20 30 30 30 20 30 20 
			 Medical 20 20 30 30 20 30 30 40 30 
			 QARNNS(1) — 10 10 10 — 10 10 10 — 
			 Chaplains — 10 — 10 — 10 — 10 10 
			 Dental — 10 — — — — 10 — — 
			 Unknown — — — — — — — — — 
			 Royal Marines 40 40 40 40 60 50 40 50 50 
			 (1 )Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service. 
		
	
	
		
			  Naval Service ratings intake from civil life by branch 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Naval Service total 4,230 4,380 4,530 4,180 4,600 4,800 3,780 3,320 3,570 
			 Royal Navy total 3,250 3,290 3,350 3,010 3,410 3,530 2,730 2,300 2,370 
			 Logistics 440 350 360 510 560 620 470 380 340 
			 Engineering 1,260 1,090 990 900 1,010 1,150 1,060 930 1,000 
			 Medical 70 100 130 40 120 130 80 70 80 
			 QARNNS 40 20 30 30 40 50 40 30 30 
			 Warfare 1,340 1,660 1,780 1,490 1,620 1,480 990 800 860 
			 Warfare Support 100 80 60 40 70 100 80 80 60 
			 Royal Marines total 980 1,090 1,180 1,170 1,190 1,280 1,050 1,030 1,190 
			 General Service 940 1,070 1,160 1,140 1,160 1,250 1,020 980 1,160 
			 Band 40 20 30 30 20 30 30 40 30 
		
	
	
		
			  RAF Officer intake from civil life by branch 
			  1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 Total 400 430 480 440 450 460 520 290 (2)320 
			 Pilots 90 140 160 140 160 150 170 80 (2)90 
			 Engineering 30 40 40 40 50 60 70 40 (2)20 
			 Administration 70 70 40 30 40 40 50 20 (2)30 
			 Navigators 40 40 50 50 40 50 40 10 (2)20 
			 Fighter Control 30 20 40 40 20 10 20 20 (2)20 
			 Medical 10 10 20 20 20 20 30 30 (2)30 
			 Air Traffic Control 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 20 (2)20 
			 Ops Support 40 40 40 30 20 20 10 10 (2)20 
			 Supply 10 20 20 20 30 30 30 10 (2)— 
			 Intelligence 10 10 10 10 10 20 20 10 (2)— 
			 PMRAFNS(1) 10 10 20 — 10 — 10 10 (2)— 
			 Dental — — — — 10 — 10 — (2)— 
			 Chaplains 10 — — — — — — — (2)— 
			 Legal — — 10 — — — — — (2)— 
			 Other — — — — — — 30 20 (2)40 
			 (1 )Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service. 
		
	
	
		
			  RAF other ranks intake from civil life by trade group 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Total 3,130 3,820 3,610 3,190 3,340 3,990 3,640 1,880 (2)1,110 
			 Aircrew 50 40 70 60 60 50 70 50 (2)50 
			 Aircraft Engineering 720 800 730 600 580 700 590 260 (2)250 
			 Avionics 370 450 390 340 320 380 330 — (2)— 
			 Electronics Engineering 160 60 170 210 260 260 270 20 (2)— 
			 General Engineering 120 180 140 180 170 140 190 110 (2)60 
			 Transport 130 170 140 160 180 290 260 140 (2)30 
			 Security 510 790 760 470 400 480 480 410 (2)260 
			 Air Traffic Control 90 110 120 130 150 170 140 50 (2)40 
			 Administration 40 50 30 40 30 50 50 20 (2)20 
			 Intelligence 140 170 140 190 170 220 130 100 (2)140 
			 Fighter Control 80 70 70 100 80 60 60 80 (2)40 
			 Painters/Finishers 70 140 100 40 110 150 150 40 (2)20 
			 Photographer 50 80 70 70 80 100 70 40 (2)10 
			 Medical 160 160 170 140 100 190 170 120 (2)40 
			 Dental 10 10 30 20 20 30 20 10 (2)10 
			 Personnel administration 150 190 100 70 140 170 140 40 (2)20 
			 Supply 200 280 320 260 300 310 260 200 (2)70 
			 Catering 70 60 60 100 190 250 260 180 (2)40 
			 Musicians 10 — 10 20 10 10 10 10 (2)10 
			 (1) Zero or rounded to zero.  (2 )Provisional. 
		
	
	UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel and mobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel.
	Figures include re-enlistments and rejoined reservists.
	Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in five have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Helicopters

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer Questions  (a) 71152 and  (b) 71153, on helicopter fuel tank protection, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South for answer on 12 May 2006.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1940W.

Medical/Dental Officers

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Armed Forces Pay Review Body report on service medical and dental officers to be published.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial I made today.

Military (Low Flying)

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his written statement of 18 July 2006, on the Pattern of Military Low Flying Across the UK 2005-06, when he expects the 2005-06 report to be  (a) completed and  (b) published.

Tom Watson: The Pattern of Military Low Flying Across the United Kingdom 2005-06 is expected to be completed and printed in early August, and will be placed in the Library during the recess. I will write to the hon. Member when that has been done.

Military Vehicles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in which vehicles British service personnel have been  (a) killed and  (b) injured as a result of hostile action in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: 25 British servicemen have been killed as a result of hostile action while in military vehicles since the start of the conflict in Iraq. Twenty of these were travelling in armoured Land Rovers, two in unarmoured Land Rovers, two in Warrior armoured fighting vehicles and one was travelling in an unarmoured military ambulance. Ten servicemen were also killed by hostile action while flying in a military C-130 aircraft.
	A further six personnel have been killed in Iraq during incidents where vehicles were present. Records do not allow us to confirm if they were in the vehicles at the time of injury. Centrally available records do not allow us to give a figure for the number of British servicemen injured from hostile action whilst in vehicles.
	Two British servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan as a result of hostile action whilst in vehicles since operations began in 2001. Both were in unarmoured Land Rovers.
	Between 1 January 2006 and 6 July 2006, three British servicemen have been injured as a result of hostile action whilst in vehicles in Afghanistan. A further three have been killed and five wounded during incidents where troops were involved in patrols equipped with armoured Land Rovers in Afghanistan. Centrally available records do not allow us to confirm if they were in the vehicles at the time of injury.

Military Vehicles

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the relative protection afforded from improvised explosive devices by the Tempest Truck, Mine Protected Vehicle and the Force Protection Inc. Cougar joint explosive ordnance disposal rapid response vehicles employed by the US Marine Corps in Iraq.

Adam Ingram: The in service Mine Protected Vehicle, which was originally known as Tempest although that name is no longer used, is based on an early version of the Force Protection Inc. Cougar vehicle. There are many variants of the Cougar and different nations modify them to meet their own specifications and roles. We do not comment on the relative protection as to do so would prejudice safety of allies.

Ministerial Office

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: In 2001 the Ministry of Defence head office moved from the main building to temporary offices allowing for the main building PFI redevelopment project to provide a new modern working environment appropriate to the future business need of the Department. Some redecoration of the temporary accommodation was undertaken to prepare it, including for Minister's offices. In 2004 the Ministry of Defence head office returned to the main building. There has been no redecoration of ministerial offices since this date.

Missiles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects plans for ballistic missile defence for NATO allies to be approved.

Des Browne: The NATO Missile Defence Feasibility Study was noted by the North Atlantic Council in June 2006. NATO will continue to examine the options for, and implications of, the possible acquisition of territorial Ballistic Missile Defence, but it has made no plans for such acquisition nor set a timetable for a decision.

Missiles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what feasibility studies his Department has carried out on possible sites for ground based interceptors in relation to possible UK involvement in a missile defence shield.

Des Browne: None.

Mobile Phones (RAF Stations)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what rules apply to the use of mobile telephones and camera telephones on RAF stations; and what the reasons are for such rules.

Tom Watson: The use of mobile and camera telephones is governed by defence-wide security policy. A balance has to be drawn between the need to protect the Ministry of Defence information and assets and allowing the greatest possible freedom for the individual. Each RAF Station will have its own specific rules that apply to the use of mobile telephones and camera telephones. These requirements are published to staff and briefed to visitors on arrival.
	This policy is intended to minimise the potential for compromise of protectively marked information and assets and is reviewed regularly to take account of changing threats and developments in technology.

Modernising Personnel Administration

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written statement of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 3WS, on modernising armed forces and veterans personnel administration, what budget has been set aside to carry out the proposed changes.

Tom Watson: The bringing together of the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency and the Veterans Agency will incur modest costs, primarily in senior management time and in any re-badging of the new agency. These costs will be met by existing budgets within the individual agencies and are not significant enough to require a separate budget to be set aside. Any subsequent proposals for investment to improve service quality would be assessed case by case.

Modernising Personnel Administration

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the written statement of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 3WS, on modernising armed forces and veterans personnel administration, if he will place in the Library a copy of the  (a) study and  (b) consultation document.

Tom Watson: Yes. I will place the information requested in the Library.

Nell McAndrew

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 12 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1884W, on welfare services, whether Nell McAndrew will be remunerated for her work on the confidential support line campaign with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association.

Tom Watson: That is a matter between the Association and Nell McAndrew. We remain greatly appreciative of the support she gives to our armed forces.

Nuclear Liabilities

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a disaggregation by function and location of the £9,753,827,000 undiscounted costs of nuclear liabilities, set out at page 220 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, HC1394, for which his Department is responsible; and if he will publish the advice provided to his Department by NIREX to which the Report makes reference.

Des Browne: A disaggregation by function and location of the £9,753,827,000 undiscounted costs of nuclear liabilities, stated in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, is as follows:
	£3,394,744,000—Costs associated with decommissioning, care and maintenance of redundant facilities (the conditioning, retrieval and storage of contaminated materials); research and development; and the procurement of capital facilities to handle the various waste streams.
	Location: AWE Sites, Berkshire.
	£2,132,782,000—Decontamination and decommissioning of Naval Test Reactor and waste disposal.
	Location: Dounreay.
	£1,052,580,000—Costs associated with the research, development and construction of the NIREX Deep Waste Repository.
	Location: Not yet known.
	£934,659,000—Storage of nuclear materials.
	Locations: Springfields, Capenhurst and Sellafield.
	£909,892,000—Nuclear Propulsion decontamination and decommissioning liabilities at various sites which conduct nuclear submarine decommissioning work on behalf of MOD.
	Locations: Sellafield, Derby and mobile support equipment.
	£504,144,000—Berthing and decommissioning of out of service submarines.
	Locations: Rosyth and Devonport.
	£332,835,000—Decommissioning of current in-service submarines.
	Location: Rosyth and Devonport.
	£177,259,000—Sundry provisions, the bulk of which is in respect of costs of storage of low level waste.
	Location: Sellafield.
	£146,401,000—Dismantlement of Warheads.
	Location: AWE Sites, Berkshire.
	£119,168,000—Decommissioning of nuclear submarine refit and refuelling facilities.
	Location: Devonport Dockyard.
	£32,299,000—Nuclear Decommissioning and Decontamination of Rosyth Dockyard on completion of the final Nuclear Submarine Project contract.
	Location: Rosyth.
	£10,627,000—Decommissioning and disposal of the Neptune Test Reactor.
	Location: Derby.
	£4,030,000—Disposal of Support Equipment which contains depleted uranium.
	Location: Rosyth and Devonport.
	£2,207,000—Decommissioning of a facility that processes radiological submarine effluent at HM Naval Base Clyde which is being superseded by a new Radiological Processing Facility.
	Location: HM Naval Base Clyde.
	£200,000—Decontamination related to low-level and small quantities of nuclear materials used in educational laboratories at the Defence Academy.
	Location: Shrivenham.
	The information provided by NIREX for the Department's Annual Report and Accounts is commercially sensitive. Its publication is a matter for NIREX.

Nuclear Liabilities

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to paragraph 64 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, HC 1394, which international legal obligations would have to be met by the United Kingdom if it was decided to use its nuclear weapons.

Des Browne: The UK would consider using nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence and in accordance with our international legal obligations, including those relating to the conduct of armed conflict.

Nuclear Test Veterans

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of awarding war pensions to all nuclear test veterans suffering from radiation linked disease.

Tom Watson: All nuclear test veterans are eligible to claim, under the terms of the war pension scheme, for any disablement causally linked to service rather than for specific conditions or diseases. A war pension is also paid whenever the claimant can raise reasonable doubt, by providing reliable evidence, that the claimed disablement is causally linked to service. The War Pensions Scheme considers disablement from radiation linked disease, to include such conditions as certain thyroid and parathyroid diseases, cataracts and malignant disease and cancer. Cancers due to ionising radiation are clinically indistinguishable from those due to any other cause which are common in a population increasing with age. Based on the findings of National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) reports it is war pensions policy that entitlement is given to any type of leukaemia, other than chronic lymphatic with onset, within 25 years of participation at a nuclear test.
	Therefore no estimate has been made of the cost of awarding war pensions to all veterans who might be suffering from a radiation linked disease that has arisen some time after service in nuclear test areas as it might not be linked to that service. The value of a disablement award is determined by the assessed level of all service related disablement, which can be re-assessed if there is subsequent deterioration.

Nuclear Waste

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the inventory of nuclear waste created from all the nuclear weapons programmes in the UK, including the submarine fleet; when the inventory was last updated; and what his plans are for updating the inventory.

Adam Ingram: The United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory, published periodically by NIREX and DEFRA, contains details of nuclear waste arising from the Defence programme. An electronic copy of the most recent inventory was published on 19 January 2006 and is available in the Library.

Nuclear Waste

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has a list of radioactive materials that are not included in the inventory of nuclear waste from nuclear weapons programmes.

Adam Ingram: All radioactive materials employed in, or arising from, the nuclear weapons programme are either recorded in the United Kingdom Radioactive Waste Inventory or accounted for separately in accordance with statutory requirements.

Pathfinder Programme

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress his Department has made on  (a) the launch of the Pathfinder programme teams and  (b) scoping of Pathfinder programmes on through-life capability management.

Adam Ingram: The two Pathfinder programmes—Sustained Surface Combatant Capability and Sustained Armoured Vehicle Capability—bring together representatives from the Ministry of Defence and industry to pilot new approaches to acquisition on a through-life capability basis. Team members were identified in consultation with industry. Both teams are established and are making good progress. A Pathfinder 'Industry Day' is being held on 28 July.

Private Land (Military Use)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many privately-owned pieces of land are used by the RAF around Ledbury, Herefordshire.

Tom Watson: No privately-owned pieces of land have been used by the RAF around Ledbury, Herefordshire.

Private Land (Military Use)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what private land was used for close air support operations and forward air control exercises in the last three years; in what counties the land used was located; and whether rent was paid for the use of the land.

Tom Watson: I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Private Land (Military Use)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was paid to land owners in Herefordshire for the use of their property for RAF exercises in each of the last three years.

Tom Watson: No money has been paid to land owners in Herefordshire for use of their property in RAF exercises in the last three years.

Reserve Forces

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the studies of the demobilisation surveys for reserve forces completing operational engagements for the last five years.

Tom Watson: We are considering whether the documents can be released in full or in part. This will require scrutiny of a considerable amount of information contained within five main reports and three follow-up reports. Once this process is complete, I will write to the hon. Gentleman and, if appropriate, place copies of the report in the Library of the House.

Reserve Forces

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the studies of terminal surveys for members of reserve forces leaving the reserve forces for the last five years.

Tom Watson: The armed forces do not currently carry out terminal surveys for members of the reserve forces. But we do conduct a larger number of focused surveys on reserves; for example a continuous attitude survey on the TA and a copy of this survey of Annex is in the Library of the House.

Reserve Forces

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the manning totals were  (a) in 2005-06 and  (b) in the most recent period for which figures are available of (i) men and (ii) women for (A) officers and (B) other ranks in each of the reserve forces, breaking down (1) the Territorial Army by area and corps and (2) (x) the Royal Navy Reserve and (y) the Royal Auxiliary Air Force by functional category.

Tom Watson: holding answer14 July 2006
	Available information on the number of male and female officers and other ranks in the Territorial Army and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force is given in the following tables:
	
		
			  Territorial Army personnel( 1)  as at 1 April 2005 
			  Number 
			   Male  Officers female  Total  Male  Other ranks female  Total 
			 All Arm/Corps 4,210 1,340 5,550 25,250 5,380 30,630 
			 Staff 80 10 90 — — — 
			 Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps 210 — 220 930 70 1,000 
			 Royal Artillery 290 30 320 1,670 220 1,880 
			 Royal Engineers 310 30 340 1,800 230 2,030 
			 Royal Signals 370 100 470 2,700 690 3,380 
			 Infantry 770 10 780 5,940 240 6,180 
			 Army Air Corps 50 — 50 60 — 60 
			 Royal Army Chaplain's Dept 60 — 60 — — — 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 440 60 500 4,610 780 5,400 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 550 190 740 1,240 890 2,130 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 140 20 160 1,940 140 2,090 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Provost) 40 10 50 220 50 270 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) 90 40 130 360 420 790 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Education Training Services) 20 — 20 — — — 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Army Legal Services) 10 — 10 — — — 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 30 10 40 — 10 20 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 10 — 10 — — — 
			 Intelligence Corps 80 30 100 320 70 390 
			 Army Physical Training Corps — — — — — — 
			 General List 10 — 10 — — — 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 350 720 1,080 20 40 60 
			 Unallocated 10 — 10 180 — 190 
			 Officer Training Corps — — — 3,230 1,530 4,760 
			 Small Arms School Corps — — — — — — 
			 General Service Corps 280 70 350 — — — 
			 (1) Figures include Mobilised TA personnel and University Officer Training Corps but exclude Non Regular Permanent Staff and Full Time Reserve Service personnel.   Source:  DASA (Army) 
		
	
	
		
			  Territorial Army personnel( 1)  as at 1 April 2006 
			  Number 
			   Male  Officers female  Total  Male  Other ranks female  Total 
			 All Arm/Corps 4,120 1,270 5,400 26,260 5,740 32,000 
			 Staff 80 10 90 — — — 
			 Household Cavalry/ Royal Armoured Corps 210 — 220 960 80 1,040 
			 Royal Artillery 290 30 320 1,710 250 1,960 
			 Royal Engineers 300 40 340 1,890 250 2,140 
			 Royal Signals 380 100 480 2,770 760 3,530 
			 Infantry 750 10 760 6,520 230 6,760 
			 Army Air Corps 40 — 50 60 — 60 
			 Royal Army Chaplain's Dept 60 — 60 — — — 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 420 60 480 4,680 840 5,520 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 540 190 720 1,210 840 2,050 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 140 20 160 1,960 160 2,120 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Provost) 30 10 40 200 40 240 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) 110 30 140 340 450 800 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Education Training Services) 20 — 20 — — — 
			 Adjutant General Corps (Army Legal Services) 10 — 10 — — — 
			 Royal Army Dental Corps 20 10 30 10 20 30 
			 Royal Army Veterinary Corps 10 10 10 — — — 
			 Intelligence Corps 80 20 100 330 70 400 
			 Army Physical Training Corps — — — — — — 
			 General List 10 — 10 — — — 
			 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 330 670 1,000 20 30 50 
			 Unallocated — — — 60 — 60 
			 Officer Training Corps — — — 3,550 1,690 5,240 
			 Small Arms School Corps 10 — 10 — — — 
			 General Service Corps 270 60 330 — — — 
			 (1) Figures include Mobilised TA personnel and University Officer Training Corps but exclude Non Regular Permanent Staff and Full Time Reserve Service personnel.   Source:  DASA (Army) 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Auxiliary Air Force strength by gender 
			  Number 
			   1 April 2005  1 April 2006 
			 Officers 290 280 
			 Male 230 230 
			 Female 60 50 
			
			 Other Ranks 1,190 1,180 
			 Male 980 990 
			 Female 200 180 
			  Source:  DASA (Air) 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Auxiliary Air Force officers 
			  Number 
			   1 April 2005  1 April 2006 
			 All branches 290 280 
			
			 GD 10 10 
			
			 Flying Squadron Leader — — 
			 Junior Officer Pilots 20 30 
			 Junior Officer Weapons System Operator 10 10 
			 Junior Officer Rear crew — — 
			 Flying total 40 40 
			
			 Operations Support (Air Traffic Control) — — 
			 Operations Support (Fighter Control) — — 
			 Operations Support (Intelligence) 80 80 
			 Operations Support (Regiment) 20 20 
			 Operations Support (Flight Operations) 30 30 
			 Operations Support (Provost and Security) — — 
			 Ops spt total 140 140 
			
			 Engineer — — 
			 Supply 10 10 
			 Administration (Secretarial) 40 40 
			 Administration (Catering) — — 
			 Administration (Physical Education) — — 
			 Administration (Training) — — 
			 Medical 20 20 
			 Medical Support — — 
			 Dental — — 
			 Chaplains — — 
			 Legal — — 
			 Music — — 
			 Princess Mary Royal Air Force Nursing Service 20 10 
			 Ground total 100 90 
			  Source:  DASA (Air) 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Auxiliary Air Force other ranks 
			  Number 
			   1 April 2005  1 April 2006 
			 All trades 1,190 1,180 
			
			 Ground trades 1,170 1,160 
			 Engineering Technician Airframe — — 
			 Engineering Technician Propulsion — — 
			 Engineering Technician Weapon — — 
			 Airframe Technician (Mechanical) — — 
			 Airframe Technician (Avionics) — — 
			
			 Engineering Technician (Avionics) — — 
			 Engineering Technician (Aircraft Electrical) — — 
			
			 Communication and Information Systems — — 
			 Engineering Technician Electronics — — 
			 Telecommunications Controller/Telecommunications Operator 20 20 
			 Communication and Information Systems Aerial Erector — — 
			
			 General Technician Electrical 10 10 
			 General Technician Ground Support Equipment 10 10 
			 General Technician Workshops — — 
			 General Technician (Mechanical) — — 
			 Mechanical Transport Driver 40 30 
			 Mechanical Transport Technician/Mechanic 10 10 
			
			 Royal Air Force Police 40 30 
			 Gunner 480 500 
			 Firefighter — — 
			
			 Air Traffic Control 100 80 
			 Meteorological Non Commissioned Officer — — 
			
			 Royal Air Force Administration — — 
			 Royal Air Force Physical Training Instructor — — 
			
			 Intelligence Systems Analyst (Communications) — — 
			 Intelligence Systems Analyst (Voice) — — 
			 Aerospace Manager Operator/Senior Non Commissioned Officer Fighter Controller — — 
			
			 Survival Equipment Fitter 10 — 
			 Painter and Finisher — — 
			
			 Photographer — — 
			 Intelligence Analyst (Imagery) 50 40 
			 Air Cartographer — — 
			
			 Staff Nurse (Registered Mental Nurse) — — 
			 Pharmacy Technician — — 
			 Environmental Health Technician — — 
			 Operating Theatre Technician — — 
			 Radiographer — — 
			 Laboratory Technician — — 
			 Medical Administrator 30 30 
			 Medical Assistant 40 40 
			 Staff Nurse (Registered General Nurse) 40 40 
			
			 Dental Nurse — — 
			 Dental Hygienist — — 
			 Dental Administrator/Nurse — — 
			
			 Personnel Administrator 60 60 
			 Data/Statistical Analyst — — 
			
			 Supplier 60 70 
			 Movements Controller/Operator 160 160 
			
			 Chef 20 20 
			 Catering Accountant — — 
			 Mess Manager/Steward — — 
			
			 Musician — — 
			
			 Non commissioned aircrew 20 20 
			 Weapons System Operator (Air Electronics) — — 
			 Weapons System Operator (Linguist) — — 
			 Weapons System Operator (Air Engineers) — — 
			 Weapons System Operator (Air Load Master) 10 — 
			 '—' denotes zero or rounded to zero.   Note:  All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, figures may not always equal the sum of the parts. When rounding to the nearest 10, numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.   Source:  DASA (Air) 
		
	
	Reliable information on Royal Navy Reserve functional categories is not held centrally and can be collated only at disproportionate cost. A breakdown by units is shown as follows.
	
		
			  Royal Navy Reserves as at 31 March 2005 
			  Number 
			   Male  Officers female  Total  Male  Other ranks female  Total 
			 All units 760 230 1,000 1,160 440 1,600 
			 HMS Calliope 40 10 40 70 20 100 
			 HMS Cambria 30 10 40 60 20 80 
			 HMS Caroline 20 10 30 50 30 70 
			 HMS Dalriada 20 10 30 50 30 80 
			 HMS Eaglet 50 20 80 120 40 160 
			 HMS Ferret 50 20 60 — — — 
			 HMS Flying Fox 20 10 30 60 20 80 
			 HMS Forward 30 — 30 80 30 110 
			 HMS King Alfred 80 20 100 80 50 130 
			 HMS President 100 30 120 110 50 160 
			 HMS Scotia 40 10 50 90 30 120 
			 HMS Sherwood 30 10 40 70 30 100 
			 HMS Vivid 30 20 50 90 40 130 
			 HMS Wildfire 30 20 40 30 30 70 
			 Air Branch 160 10 170 190 20 200 
			 Mine Warfare Clearance Diver — — — 10 — 10 
			 Media Relations 30 40 70 — — — 
			  Source:  RNR database 
		
	
	
		
			  Royal Navy Reserves as at 31 March 2006 
			  Number 
			   Male  Officers female  Total  Male  Other ranks female  Total 
			 All units 770 210 980 1,050 360 1,410 
			 HMS Calliope 30 10 40 70 20 80 
			 HMS Cambria 30 10 30 40 20 60 
			 HMS Caroline 20 10 20 50 20 70 
			 HMS Dalriada 20 10 30 50 20 70 
			 HMS Eaglet 50 20 70 100 30 140 
			 HMS Ferret 50 10 60 — — — 
			 HMS Flying Fox 30 — 30 50 20 60 
			 HMS Forward 30 — 30 60 20 80 
			 HMS King Alfred 90 20 100 70 40 110 
			 HMS President 100 30 120 110 40 160 
			 HMS Scotia 40 10 40 80 30 110 
			 HMS Sherwood 40 — 40 60 30 90 
			 HMS Vivid 30 20 50 80 30 120 
			 HMS Wildfire 30 20 50 30 20 50 
			 Air Branch 160 10 170 180 20 200 
			 Mine Warfare Clearance Diver — — — 20 — 20 
			 Media Relations 40 30 70 — — — 
			  Source:  RNR database

Reservists

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will take steps to compensate and support small and medium-sized enterprises with key members of staff serving as called up reservists fulfilling long-term postings; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: The Reserve Forces Act 1996 allows payments to Reservists and/or their employers when the former are called out into permanent service. The detailed regulations are set out in a Statutory Instrument (SI 859), which came into force in April 2005.
	Under these regulations employers can claim up to £110 per day (approximately £40,000 per year) to cover certain additional costs arising from their employee's absence. Employers may also claim certain one-off costs such as agency fees and re-training costs.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been cannibalised in the past 12 months.

Adam Ingram: Over the past 12 months, eight ships of the RFA have had items of equipment removed for installation in other ships. This process is normally used to meet high priority operational commitments and where the items in demand are not readily available from normal sources. Equipment is then refitted to donor ships when it becomes available.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary can be deployed.

Adam Ingram: All RFA ships currently in service are deployable within the timescales set down in the current Fleet Readiness Profile.

Separated Service

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of separated service days was in the last recorded 30 day month rolling period for the Regular Army  (a) infantry,  (b) Royal Artillery,  (c) Royal Engineers,  (d) Royal Corps of Signals,  (e) Royal Armoured Corps,  (f) Household Cavalry,  (g) Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers and  (h) Army Medical Services.

Tom Watson: The information is listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Average number of days spent on separated service by Arm/Service over 30 months using figures recorded at 1 January 2006 
			  Arm/Service  Number 
			 Infantry 270 
			 Royal Artillery 230 
			 Royal Engineers 245 
			 Royal Signals 175 
			 Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps 270 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 320 
			 Army Medical Services 165 
			  Notes:  1. Army Medical Services include the Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Dental Corps, Royal Army Veterinary Corps and the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps.  2. Figures are based on personnel on separated service, at any time from 1 July 2003 to 31 December 2005 inclusive.  3. Figures are for United Kingdom trained army personnel only and therefore exclude full-time reserve service personnel, Gurkhas, The Home Service Battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and Mobilised Reservists.

Separated Service

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) average,  (b) highest and  (c) lowest number of days of separated service over the last three-year period for which figures are available was for each of the Royal Navy pinch point trades identified in his Department's annual report and accounts 2005-06.

Adam Ingram: For the pinch points in question, separated service has only been centrally recorded since April 2004. Data are available up to the end of March 2006. The average, highest and lowest number of days of separated service recorded over this period are:
	
		
			  Pinch point  Recorded separated service 
			   Average  Highest  Lowest 
			 Air Engineering Technicians (including Mechanics and Artificers) 70 505 0 
			 Mine Warfare Petty Officer 165 325 0 
			 Warfare Leading Hand 185 525 0 
			 Nuclear Marine Engineering Watchkeepers 110 380 0 
			 Royal Marine Other Ranks—general duties 115 460 0 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are given for those serving on the trained strength at 1 April 2006.  2. For Nuclear Watchkeepers, the population has been taken as Marine Engineering Artificers at Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer and Warrant Officer 2.  3. The Navy is currently restructuring the Air Engineering branch from the current Artificer/Mechanic career streams to a single Technician stream. For this reason, combined figures are given for these career streams.  4. Royal Marines figures exclude the band service.  5. The Navy harmony guideline for separated service is a maximum of 660 days over a 36 month period.  6. Although days spent on hospitalisation, annual leave and adventurous training are recorded by the separated service system, they do not count towards the 660 days target and are not included in the above figures.

Spare Parts

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many spare parts were  (a) available and  (b) required for Army Air Corps (i) Apache, (ii) Lynx and (iii) Gazelle helicopter fleets in the past 12 months.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Spare Parts

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many spare parts were  (a) available and  (b) required for the Royal Navy (i) destroyer, (ii) frigate, (iii) mine counter vessel, (iv) patrol vessel, (v) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel and (vi) submarine fleet in the past 12 months.

Adam Ingram: Naval spares support is managed on a whole Fleet basis, not by class of vessel. Customers include ships, shore establishments and other services. Stock levels are set to optimise support to all customers and performance is recorded on a monthly basis. As a result, the information is not available in the format requested. Each ship has an on board allowance of spares designed to support self-sustainability for 90 days.

Special Advisers

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role is played by special advisers in answering parliamentary questions asked of his Department.

Tom Watson: Special advisers conduct themselves in accordance with the requirements of the code of conduct for special advisers.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

Tom Watson: The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments has reported two statutory instruments sponsored by the Ministry of Defence for defective drafting since October 2005.
	Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported.

Submarine Flotilla

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made on the establishment of a unified submarine programme management organisation within the Department; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Since April 2006 submarine programme management within MOD has been unified under Director General Nuclear, who is responsible for managing delivery of the submarine programme from concept to disposal. Recent efforts have concentrated on the development of processes to support governance of the new organisation.

Sustainability Principles

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the sustainability principles set out at paragraph 77 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06, HC 1394, are applied by British forces deployed in  (a) Afghanistan and  (b) Iraq.

Des Browne: British armed forces deployed overseas apply United Kingdom policies and standards on sustainable development where reasonably practicable. In addition, we comply with relevant host nations' standards.

Swan Hunter

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to be in a position to announce the final payment to Swan Hunter following the termination of the contract for the Landings Ship Dock (Auxiliary) with that shipyard.

Adam Ingram: Final payment to Swan Hunter will be made once all of the obligations of the settlement agreed with the company have been met.

Tavern Armoured Vehicles

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Tavern armoured vehicles are owned by the Ministry of Defence; and how many such vehicles are located in  (a) Northern Ireland,  (b) Iraq,  (c) Afghanistan and  (d) the UK.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence currently has 96 Tavern vehicles located in Northern Ireland and eight in UK. None are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Territorial Army (Records)

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1442W, on Territorial Army (Records), 
	(1)  what the reason is for the time taken to reply to the question;
	(2)  for what reason information on units to which individuals are mobilised does not include subsequent mobilisation after the initial posting.

Tom Watson: The Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre has no authority over the posting process and therefore will not routinely know if an individual is subsequently posted to a different unit. This is the responsibility of the Integrated Mobilisation Cell who decide where members of the Territorial Army are to be posted, and the Army Personnel Centre who issue the posting order and update the individual's Record of Service.
	I regret the delay in providing the answer of 10 July which was due to an administrative oversight. New procedures for recording and tracking parliamentary questions will prevent this in future.

Tour Intervals

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average tour interval of the  (a) Corps of Royal Engineers,  (b) Royal Corps of Signals,  (c) Royal Logistic Corps and  (d) Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers has been over the last five years;
	(2)  how many tours each battalion of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers has undertaken in the last five years; what the  (a) location and  (b) length was of each; and what the length of time was between each deployment;
	(3)  how many regiments of the  (a) Corps of Royal Engineers,  (b) Royal Corps of Signals,  (c) Royal Logistic Corps and  (d) Royal Electric and Mechanical Engineers have achieved the harmony guideline of 24 months over the last five years.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 7 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1283W, for the information relating to the Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals and Royal Logistic Corps.
	The location of deployments undertaken by elements of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) over the past five years can be found in the following table. Such deployments are normally conducted at sub-unit level and below, and vary in duration and composition of personnel involved, some involving a number of short visits to theatre. Information on the length of time between each element's deployment and the average tour interval that this would imply at Regimental level is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Regiment  1 February to 31 December 2001  1 January to 31 December 2002  1 January to 31 December 2003 
			 1 Battalion REME The Balkans — Iraq and the Balkans (company) 
			 2 Battalion REME — — Iraq The Balkans (company)(1) 
			 3 Battalion REME The Balkans(1) The Balkans(1) Iraq 
			 4 Battalion REME The Balkans The Balkans (company)(1) The Balkans (company)(1) 
			 5 Battalion REME — — Iraq (company)(1) 
			 6 Battalion REME — The Balkans — 
			 7 Air Assualt Battalion REME — — Iraq 
		
	
	
		
			  Regiment  1 January to 31 December 2004  1 January to 31 December 2005  31 December 2005 to 1 July 2006 
			 1 Battalion REME The Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq(1) The Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq(1)  
			 2 Battalion REME The Balkans (company)(1) Afghanistan(1) Afghanistan(1) 
			 3 Battalion REME The Balkans (company)  Iraq 
			 4 Battalion REME  The Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq  
			 5 Battalion REME Iraq (company)(1)   
			 6 Battalion REME Iraq (company)   
			 7 Air Assualt Battalion REME   Afghanistan 
			 (1) Indicates the same tour

Trained Strength

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the  (a) actual gains to trained strength and  (b) total target gains to trained strength are for each of the Royal Navy pinch point trades identified in his Department's annual report and accounts 2005-06;
	(2)  what the  (a) total actual gains to trained strength and  (b) total target gains to trained strength are for the Regular Army (i) infantry, (ii) Royal Artillery, (iii) Royal Engineers, (iv) Royal Corps of Signals, (v) Royal Armoured Corps, (vi) Household Cavalry, (vii) Royal Electrical Mechancial Engineers and (viii) Army Medical Services;
	(3)  what the  (a) total actual gains to trained strength and  (b) total target gains to trained strength are for each of the Royal Air Force pinch point trades identified in his Department's annual report and accounts 2005-06.

Tom Watson: It will take a few weeks to validate the requested information to ensure accuracy and consistency. I will write to the hon. Gentleman and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House when this is completed.

Trident Replacement

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure there has been on preparatory  (a) studies and  (b) infrastructure development on a replacement for the Trident nuclear system.

Des Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, column 350W, to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws).

US Missile Defence Agency

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the budget is for the UK Missile Defence Centre for each of the next three years.

Des Browne: The UK Missile Defence Centre was founded on 18 July 2003 with a six-year mandate. It has just begun its fourth year with an approved budget of £5.7 million; the provisional budget allocation for each of the final two years is £5 million.

Weapons Policy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what circumstances weapons are provided to  (a) UK and  (b) other civilians in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The Ministry of Defence does not provide weapons to its civilian employees deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Environment and Heritage Service

David Simpson: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 12W, on the Environment and Heritage Service, what steps he takes to ensure cost-effectiveness of court cases brought on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service.

Mike O'Brien: The Public Prosecution Service conducts all cases it prosecutes, including those on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service, in accordance with the Test for Prosecution. That test is whether there is sufficient available evidence to afford a reasonable prospect of conviction and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. If the evidential aspect of the test is met, there is a strong presumption that prosecution is in the public interest; the more serious the offence, or its consequences, the stronger the presumption. The cost of bringing a prosecution does not weigh in that consideration. The PPS may take into account, in assessing the public interest, whether the offence is of such a nature that it is likely that the court will impose only a very small or nominal penalty.
	The cost-effectiveness of prosecutions is based on the overall efficiency of the PPS. It is not connected in any way with the fines imposed following conviction. Such fines are not payable to the PPS. Following conviction, the PPS will usually ask for its costs to be paid by the defendant but whether such an order is made, and to what extent, is a matter for judicial determination.
	The cost-effectiveness of the PPS and what is being done to maintain and improve efficiency is the subject of the PPS annual report and business plan, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Offences (Prosecution Consent)

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General if he will list the offences which may be prosecuted only with the consent of  (a) the Solicitor-General and  (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mike O'Brien: By statute, certain offences require the consent of the Attorney-General or the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in order for there to be a prosecution. The Law Officers Act 1997, section 1, provides that any function of the Attorney-General (which includes therefore the granting of consent to prosecute) may be exercised by the Solicitor-General.
	It would involve disproportionate resources to produce a complete list of the many offences requiring Attorney-General's and DPP's consent to prosecute. A list of most of such offences is reproduced at appendix A of the Law Commission's 1998 report, "Consents to Prosecution".

Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Mike O'Brien: Since June 2006 I have made six visits to the regions. These consisted of three visits to the South East, two visits to the North West and one visit to Yorkshire and the Humber. In addition I have made two visits to Northern Ireland.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Mike O'Brien: At the time that this question was asked there were 18 parliamentary questions awaiting an answer. There were two that had been waiting for two weeks and four that had been waiting for three weeks for a substantive answer. All six of these questions have now been answered.
	The Attorney-General's office endeavours to provide a substantive answer on time, although there are occasions when some parliamentary questions can take slightly longer than others to draft because of the nature of the information required.

Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General how many public appointments are within the patronage of the Law Officers; what  (a) salary and  (b) other emoluments are attached to each; and what the comparable figures were in (i) 1976, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1996.

Mike O'Brien: None.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

Mike O'Brien: None.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Homophobic Bullying

Lorely Burt: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what plans the Government have to tackle homophobic bullying in  (a) schools and  (b) the community.

Meg Munn: The Government plan to introduce regulations later this year under part 3 of the Equality Act 2006 to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions. These measures will empower individuals to challenge unacceptable prejudice in their everyday lives and will reinforce and support the work already being done in many communities by police forces and other bodies to confront and tackle homophobic bullying.
	The regulations will be promoted to raise awareness of people's new rights and responsibilities under the regulations and will be accompanied by detailed guidance for service providers. The new Commission for Equality and Human Rights will play an important role in promoting and supporting the regulations when it opens its doors in October 2007.
	We take the issue of homophobic bullying in schools very seriously and the Government gave an undertaking in the White Paper, "Higher Standards, Better Education for All", published last year, to issue guidance on bullying motivated by prejudice, including homophobia, providing school staff with valuable support in an area they often find challenging. The Department for Education and Skills is currently developing a programme to tackle homophobic bullying and has accepted a tender from Stonewall for the provision of guidance on homophobic bullying. The Department expects to issue that guidance early in 2007, and to follow this with a series of dissemination workshops.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House Facilities

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will review the rules governing the use by hon. Members of House  (a) accommodation,  (b) telephones and  (c) stationery with a view to tightening the restrictions on their use for party political purposes.

Nick Harvey: Facilities provided for individual hon. Members under the House of Commons: administration estimate, for which the Commission is responsible, are intended for use in connection with their parliamentary and public business. The rules governing their use are kept under review by the House authorities in the light of circumstances, and also in the event of specific complaints alleging abuse. Failure to observe the rules on the use of parliamentary facilities may be a breach of the code of conduct.

Senior Staff Appointments

Andrew Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 8-9W, on senior staff appointments, if the Commission will take steps to ensure that in future the appointments to the three senior posts are made by the House.

Nick Harvey: These appointments are made by the Crown. Changes would be necessary in legislation for the appointments to be made by the House. The Commission has no plans to seek such changes.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Arm's Length Management

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to measure the impact of arm's length management organisations on tenant satisfaction.

Yvette Cooper: Tenant satisfaction is one of the best value performance indicators used to measure performance by local authorities. To date there are only data available to cover the first two years of operation for the first eight ALMOs. As soon as sufficient data are available we will be able to assess the impact of ALMOs on tenant satisfaction more generally.

City of York Council

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much in  (a) rate support grants,  (b) business rates and  (c) special grants the Government paid to City of York council in each year since its creation as a unitary authority (i) in cash terms and (ii) at current prices; how much will be paid in each category in 2006-07; and what the purpose was of each special grant of £50,000 or more.

Phil Woolas: The following table shows the amount of revenue support grant, redistributed business rates and specific and special grants allocated to the City of York council in the period 1996-97 to 2006-07.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Revenue Support Grant  Redistributed Business Rates  Specific and Special Grants within Aggregate External Finance (AEF) 
			   Cash terms  Current prices  Cash terms  Current prices  Cash terms  Current prices 
			 1996-97 36.598 46.663 41.981 53.526 3.305 4.214 
			 1997-98 38.597 47.821 39.451 48.879 3.128 3.876 
			 1998-99 39.274 47.454 41.267 49.862 4.113 4.970 
			 1999-00 39.478 46.754 44.995 53.288 6.185 7.325 
			 2000-01 36.901 43.096 51.078 59.654 10.977 12.820 
			 2001-02 40.309 45.985 50.021 57.065 15.044 17.162 
			 2002-03 35.89 39.715 55.16 61.039 21.172 23.429 
			 2003-04 45.361 48.747 54.927 59.027 31.192 33.520 
			 2004-05 51.761 54.149 50.943 53.293 31.743 33.208 
			 2005-06 47.84 49.009 61.026 62.517 31.318 32.083 
			 2006-07 6.011 6.011 31.140 31.140 106.983 106.983 
		
	
	Please note that these amounts are not comparable year-on-year due to changes in funding and function. For example, in 2006-07 support for school funding moved from formula grant (i.e. revenue support grant plus business rates) to the dedicated schools grant.
	The current prices have been calculated using the GDP deflator as the measure of inflation.
	The Department for Communities and Local Government does not routinely collect data on all individual special grants from other Government Departments. The purpose of the special grants is a matter for the department that provides them.
	Specific grants within aggregate external finance are those revenue grants paid for councils' core services (such as schools funding), excluding funding for local authorities' housing management.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be appointed; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: holding answer 20 July 2006
	I anticipate that the chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights will be appointed during the summer period.

Consultancies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1538-42W, on consultancies, if she will place in the Library a copy of document 5, the MORI Survey of Government Office for the South East partners.

Angela Smith: The requested document will be made available in the Library of the House.

Contaminated Land

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what are the principal purposes of the Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments scheme; how much public funding the scheme will receive in 2006-07; when its current grant expires; and by what process future public funding levels will be determined;
	(2)  what is the commercial remit of the Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments programme; and what its principal commercial activities are.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	Contaminated Land: Application in Real Environments (CL:AIRE) is an independent registered charity, which organises and independently reviews demonstration projects on the remediation of contaminated land and disseminates the results in line with its charitable objectives. Details are provided in CL:AIRE's annual accounts.
	CL:AIRE's board includes representatives from the private and public sectors. Some £465,000 of public funds from several sources has been agreed for this financial year, including £80,000 per year from DEFRA for this year and the next two years. Public funding is mainly for specific remedial projects, and also for dissemination of information and other activities. Funding organisations establish their individual requirements in discussions and formal arrangements with CL:AIRE, which has been encouraged to diversify its sources of income.

Council Tax

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the Greater London population paid council tax in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage qualified for discounts.

Phil Woolas: The number of chargeable dwellings liable for council tax in Greater London as at November 2005 was 3,108,000 of which 1,281,000 dwellings (41.2 per cent.) were entitled to a discount.
	The number of chargeable dwellings and those entitled to a discount are taken from the CTB1 forms submitted to this Department by all 33 London billing authorities including the City of London.
	The number of individuals liable for council tax cannot be accurately determined from these or other sources.

Council Tax

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much council tax was raised in the last year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The council tax received by local authorities in England in 2005-06 was £18,419 million. This figure excludes amounts funded by council tax benefit and includes both arrears received for previous years and prepayment of council tax for subsequent years.

Council Tax

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of administering the council tax system in the latest year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Net current expenditure on administering the council tax system for 2004-05 by local authorities in England is tabled as follows.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Council tax collection 340.9 
			 Council tax benefits administration 277.5 
			 Total 618.4 
		
	
	The data are as reported by local authorities and are taken from Revenue Outturn (RO) returns for 2004-05.
	Net current expenditure is defined as gross expenditure on employees and running expenses, less income from sales, fees and charges, and 'other income'.
	The council tax collection figures also include any costs relating to collection of arrears of pre-1990 domestic rates and community charges.

Council Tax

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency's council tax people's panel reports and summaries from the last 24 months.

Phil Woolas: The results from the Valuation Office Agency's council tax people's panels, for the now postponed council tax revaluation in England, are for input to the formulation and development of Government policy and it is not therefore appropriate to place these in the public domain.

E-Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government have for  (a) a single property account and  (b) a single citizen account as part of its e-government and Government Connects programme.

Phil Woolas: The Government recognise the strategic importance of  (a) a single property account and issued an outline prospectus entitled "Towards the National Spatial Addressing Infrastructure" for public consultation in May last year, containing technical details and governance structures. Discussions with stakeholders regarding this initiative are currently ongoing.
	The Government Connect Programme will provide local government with a single secure approach to registering and authenticating users of online services. This will include checking identity details through data matching and data sharing processes to enable joined-up or shared service provision.
	In relation to  (b) a single citizen account, a core element of the Government Connect programme is the ability to offer a 'single sign-on' to citizens, i.e. once a citizen has registered and authenticated themselves online, all subsequent transactions will use this authentication, which means that citizens will no longer be asked for the same information again and again as they use different services from different providers.

E-Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding was provided to local authorities for Implementing Electronic Government in each year since its introduction; and how much has been allocated for  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Phil Woolas: Local authorities in England were allocated the following capital grant for Implementing Electronic Government:
	
		
			   Capital grant (£) 
			 2002-03 200,000 
			 2003-04 200,000 
			 2004-05 350,000 
			 2005-06 150,000 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 0 
		
	
	The Local e-Government Programme was completed in March 2006, so no Implementing Electronic Government funding has been allocated for 2006-07 or 2007-08.

Empty Dwellings

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many vacant homes there are in  (a) England and  (b) Swindon.

Yvette Cooper: The information is as follows:
	At October 2005 there were an estimated 723,194 vacant homes in England.
	At October 2005 Swindon district council reported a total of 2,374 vacant homes.
	 Source:
	Council Tax Base 1 (CTB1) returns.

Fair Trade Councils

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department has taken to support local authorities becoming designated as fair trade councils.

Phil Woolas: Local authorities are responsible for taking their own procurement decisions subject to the requirements of Best Value Legislation and to the EU/UK regulatory framework. Fair trade options have to be considered by local authorities within this framework.

False Fire Alarms

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many malicious false fire alarms were attended by the fire and rescue service in  (a) each London borough and  (b) constituency since 2004-05.

Angela Smith: Information provided by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) is shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Malicious false fire alarms attended by London borough 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 342 158 
			 Barnet 245 157 
			 Bexley 119 62 
			 Brent 312 137 
			 Bromley 182 122 
			 Camden 267 321 
			 City of London 18 13 
			 Croydon 140 165 
			 Ealing 234 96 
			 Enfield 327 150 
			 Greenwich 308 152 
			 Hackney 368 121 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 132 59 
			 Haringey 390 181 
			 Harrow 222 91 
			 Havering 114 78 
			 Hillingdon 169 88 
			 Hounslow 152 61 
			 Islington 265 95 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 135 66 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 65 64 
			 Lambeth 348 149 
			 Lewisham 324 109 
			 Merton 65 41 
			 Newham 446 173 
			 Redbridge 136 103 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 35 26 
			 Southwark 385 175 
			 Sutton 65 36 
			 Tower Hamlets 513 219 
			 Waltham Forest 263 154 
			 Wandsworth 196 102 
			 Westminster 301 196 
		
	
	
		
			  Malicious false fire alarms attended by constituency 
			   2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking 177 96 
			 Battersea 62 35 
			 Beckenham 50 28 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow 311 129 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford 49 26 
			 Brent East 90 52 
			 Brent North 88 33 
			 Brent South 134 52 
			 Brentford and Isleworth 83 30 
			 Bromley and Chislehurst 57 35 
			 Camberwell and Peckham 139 70 
			 Carshalton and Wallington 37 26 
			 Chingford and Woodford Green 37 45 
			 Chipping Barnet 63 23 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 231 167 
			 Croydon Central 60 84 
			 Croydon North 60 45 
			 Croydon South 20 36 
			 Dagenham 165J 62 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood 93 38 
			 Ealing North 82 30 
			 Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush 109 47 
			 Ealing, Southall 101 50 
			 East Ham 179 60 
			 Edmonton 84 45 
			 Eltham 71 45 
			 Enfield North 166 69 
			 Enfield, Southgate 77 36 
			 Erith and Thamesmead 135 53 
			 Feltham and Heston 69 31 
			 Finchley and Golders Green 62 47 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 153 68 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 154 52 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch 214 69 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 74 28 
			 Hampstead and Highgate 51 45 
			 Harrow East 183 76 
			 Harrow West 39 15 
			 Hayes and Harlington 103 44 
			 Hendon 120 87 
			 Holborn and St. Pancras 216 276 
			 Hornchurch 31 28 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 135 86 
			 Ilford North 46 25 
			 Ilford South 75 63 
			 Islington North 117 48 
			 Islington South and Finsbury 148 46 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 67 37 
			 Kingston and Surbiton 61 60 
			 Lewisham East 139 45 
			 Lewisham West 114 42 
			 Lewisham, Deptford 71 22 
			 Leyton and Wanstead 88 49 
			 Mitcham and Morden 41 27 
			 North Southwark and Bermondsey 198 87 
			 Old Bexley and Sidcup 19 22 
			 Orpington 75 59 
			 Poplar and Canning Town 290 132 
			 Putney 42 24 
			 Regent's Park and Kensington North 155 70 
			 Richmond Park 12 13 
			 Romford 48 26 
			 Ruislip-Northwood 26 17 
			 Streatham 85 54 
			 Sutton and Cheam 28 10 
			 Tooting 92 43 
			 Tottenham 255 95 
			 Twickenham 27 17 
			 Upminster 35 24 
			 Uxbridge 40 27 
			 Vauxhall 218 75 
			 Walthamstow 153 75 
			 West Ham 179 71 
			 Wimbledon 24 14 
			  Note: Data supplied by LFEPA. 
		
	
	The total number of malicious false fire alarms by constituency is slightly less than by borough because of missing geographic information.

Fire Control Centres

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements are in place to  (a) monitor the progress of the roll out of regional fire control centres and  (b) ensure all functions and duties currently undertaken by fire control centres are covered in the new structure.

Angela Smith: The FiReControl project is managed in line with the principles of PRINCE2 methodology and Office of Government Commerce (OGC) best practice.
	It is managed in stages and includes separate accommodation and technology procurements. Regional projects have been established to plan and manage the changes at regional and FRS levels. Progress is monitored and reported against the project plan. Internal reports are provided to the Project Board, and upwards to the programme executive and DCLG Board. As a mission critical project, quarterly reports are also made to OGC and subject to the Gateway Review process.
	All functions and duties currently undertaken in FRS control rooms that are essential to the operation of the fire and rescue service will be done in either the new regional control centres (RCCs) or FRS HQs. Following the responses to a recent questionnaire on current control room activities, we are working with our local delivery co-ordinators in each FRS to plan the effective transition of activities.
	More detailed information on our recent follow-up work on existing control room activities can be found on the FiReControl website:
	www.firecontrol.communities.gov.uk

Fire Control Centres

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what response she has made to the Fire Brigade Union document "Regional Control: national resilience."

Angela Smith: The Fire Brigade Union sent a copy of their document "Regional Control: national resilience" to the Deputy Prime Minister and requested a meeting. The Deputy Prime Minister met with the Fire Brigade Union Secretary on the 7 February 2006 to discuss their proposals, amongst other things.

Fire Control Centres

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the location is of each fire local control room in England, broken down by region; and how many people are employed at each.

Angela Smith: The information requested is tabulated as follows:
	
		
			  Staff in post on 31 March 2005 (all persons having a fire control role) 
			  Region  Staff (full-time equivalents) 
			  East of England:  6 control rooms  
			 Kempston, Bedford 26 
			 Huntingdon 29 
			 Hutton (Essex) (1)44 
			 Hertford 26 
			 Heathersett, Norwich 27 
			 Ipswich 23 
			   
			  East Midlands: 5 control rooms  
			 Littleover, Derby 32 
			 Glenfield, Leicester 27 
			 Lincoln 24 
			 Northampton 23 
			 Arnold, Nottingham 28 
			   
			  London: 1 control room  
			 London SE1 111 
			   
			  North East: 4 control rooms  
			 Hartlepool 23 
			 Durham 27 
			 Morpeth 23 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 36 
			   
			  North West: 5 control rooms  
			 Winsford 24 
			 Cockermouth 18 
			 Swinton, Manchester 68 
			 Fulwood, Preston 45 
			 Bootle, Liverpool 54 
			   
			  South East: 9 control rooms  
			 Tilehurst, Reading 34 
			 Aylesbury 21 
			 Eastbourne 27 
			 Eastleigh 38 
			 Newport (Isle of Wight) 13 
			 Tovil, Maidstone 39 
			 Kidlington, Oxford 21 
			 Reigate 28 
			 Chichester 31 
			   
			  South West: 7 control rooms  
			 Bristol 34 
			 Truro 16 
			 Clyst St. George, Exeter 28 
			 Dorchester 24 
			 Quedgeley, Gloucester 21 
			 Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton 21 
			 Potterne, Devizes 24 
			   
			  West Midlands: 5 control rooms  
			 Worcester 21 
			 Shrewsbury 17 
			 Stone 31 
			 Royal Leamington Spa 17 
			 Birmingham 62 
			   
			  Yorkshire and the Humber: 4 control rooms  
			 Kingston upon Hull 29 
			 Northallerton 24 
			 Sheffield 38 
			 Birkenshaw, West Yorkshire 55 
			 (1) 2004 figure.  Source: Fire and Rescue Service returns to DCLG.

Firefighters

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many incidents  (a) Merseyside Fire Service and  (b) fire services in England experienced where booby-traps had been left to injure firemen in the course of carrying out their duties in each year for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.

Fires

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many outbreaks of fire were recorded in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: Information provided by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) is tabulated as follows.
	
		
			  Fires attended in each London borough, 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,451 2,066 2,960 1,853 1,651 
			 Barnet 1,333 1,299 1,641 1,152 1,248 
			 Bexley 1,745 1,295 1,968 1,337 1,370 
			 Brent 1,367 1,230 1,518 1,124 1,062 
			 Bromley 1,870 1,702 2,130 1,544 1,794 
			 Camden 1,467 1,479 1,303 1,159 1,027 
			 City of London 131 115 131 127 90 
			 Croydon 1,949 1,481 2,084 1,407 1,360 
			 Ealing 1,723 1,534 1,853 1,335 1,336 
			 Enfield 1,834 1,554 2,116 1,496 1,398 
			 Greenwich 2,766 2,285 3,270 1,892 2,092 
			 Hackney 2,609 1,945 1,958 1,557 1,438 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 744 743 829 655 604 
			 Haringey 1,569 1,402 1,426 1,192 1,107 
			 Harrow 823 746 840 600 531 
			 Havering 1,831 1,482 2,099 1,396 1,485 
			 Hillingdon 1,997 1,893 2,134 1,313 1,211 
			 Hounslow 1,875 1,589 2,112 1,219 1,187 
			 Islington 1,797 1,701 1,707 1,127 1,177 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 666 516 668 553 489 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 607 527 707 568 467 
			 Lambeth 2,039 1,702 1,772 1,390 1,241 
			 Lewisham 1,588 1,443 1,822 1,313 1,336 
			 Merton 1,090 1,012 1,195 706 761 
			 Newham 3,618 2,929 2,985 1,830 1,688 
			 Redbridge 1,318 1,165 1,664 1,117 1,025 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 533 525 750 464 404 
			 Southwark 2,740 2,341 2,523 2,026 1,737 
			 Sutton 1,033 908 1,142 731 755 
			 Tower Hamlets 4,008 3,162 3,531 2,761 2,602 
			 Waltham Forest 1,301 1,289 1,779 1,115 1,165 
			 Wandsworth 1,273 1,131 1,367 1,037 921 
			 Westminster 1,501 1,377 1,300 1,197 1,199 
			 Total 55,196 47,568 57,284 40,293 38,958 
			  Note: Data supplied by LFEPA, and include both primary and secondary fires.

Fires

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary fires there were in England in each year since 1981; and how many dwelling fires there were in England in each year since 1976.

Angela Smith: The information requested is tabulated as follows:
	
		
			  Primary, dwelling and secondary fires attended by fire and rescue services, England: 1976 to 2004 
			  Thousand 
			   Total primary fires  Dwelling fires  Secondary fires 
			 1976 — 39.8 — 
			 1977 — 40.1 — 
			 1978 — 39.6 — 
			 1979 — 48.4 — 
			 1980 — 42.2 — 
			 1981 113.0 44.4 112.9 
			 1982 118.8 44.2 126.2 
			 1983 122.4 45.0 132.6 
			 1984 129.1 45.6 169.8 
			 1985 131.0 48.5 125.6 
			 1986 134.1 49.1 122.5 
			 1987 135.0 49.4 102.9 
			 1988 135.7 50.0 118.2 
			 1989 144.5 50.1 194.0 
			 1990 146.0 48.7 210.7 
			 1991 155.8 49.4 156.3 
			 1992 162.5 50.2 148.8 
			 1993 160.2 50.7 168.6 
			 1994 159.4 52.0 195.8 
			 1995 161.3 52.2 300.2 
			 1996 168.6 56.6 226.7 
			 1997 164.5 57.6 189.5 
			 1998 163.4 56.5 146.3 
			 1999 178.8 57.5 180.0 
			 2000 180.0 56.2 179.8 
			 2001 188.4 54.8 229.5 
			 2002 182.6 51.6 225.9 
			 2003 176.8 51.1 308.5 
			 2004 150.9 48.1 192.0 
			  Notes: 1. Data collection methods have varied over time, so categories may not be consistent throughout the period. 2. Data includes estimates for incidents not recorded in November 2002 and January and February 2003 during industrial action.  Source: Fire and Rescue Service returns to DCLG.

Fires

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many deliberate  (a) vehicle fires and  (b) fires there were in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: Information provided by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) is showing in the following tables:
	
		
			  Deliberate vehicle fires attended by London Fire Brigade by borough 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 729 478 403 275 200 
			 Barnet 195 229 200 138 180 
			 Bexley 362 276 254 162 137 
			 Brent 195 170 164 123 133 
			 Bromley 569 461 375 299 336 
			 Camden 147 120 81 57 61 
			 City of London 0 2 0 0 1 
			 Croydon 389 257 252 179 198 
			 Ealing 316 278 220 142 145 
			 Enfield 451 326 318 210 181 
			 Greenwich 576 462 448 332 279 
			 Hackney 585 399 267 139 156 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 51 67 46 26 24 
			 Haringey 289 281 242 140 125 
			 Harrow 150 138 74 49 36 
			 Havering 377 333 330 201 196 
			 Hillingdon 645 515 345 229 171 
			 Hounslow 417 371 283 177 176 
			 Islington 330 222 189 67 107 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 32 31 26 23 21 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 133 96 120 124 51 
			 Lambeth 234 179 144 92 104 
			 Lewisham 267 255 185 117 131 
			 Merton 253 205 157 102 93 
			 Newham 830 579 441 237 215 
			 Redbridge 332 222 177 124 132 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 46 48 33 25 28 
			 Southwark 399 310 222 171 130 
			 Sutton 162 140 145 73 68 
			 Tower Hamlets 624 505 357 298 252 
			 Waltham Forest 211 194 192 114 121 
			 Wandsworth 127 92 112 56 54 
			 Westminster 34 41 34 17 32 
		
	
	
		
			  Deliberate fires attended by London Fire Brigade by borough 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 1,835 1,540 2,348 1,305 1,019 
			 Barnet 698 706 815 518 592 
			 Bexley 1,272 920 1,420 838 756 
			 Brent 604 547 693 507 444 
			 Bromley 1,362 1,247 1,499 1,072 1,141 
			 Camden 664 685 585 407 341 
			 City of London 15 16 17 20 3 
			 Croydon 1,125 842 1,174 748 728 
			 Ealing 1,084 847 944 619 605 
			 Enfield 1,163 985 1,339 822 720 
			 Greenwich 1,951 1,580 2,418 1,271 1,226 
			 Hackney 1,871 1,249 1,083 647 585 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 293 314 328 187 174 
			 Haringey 853 746 748 554 449 
			 Harrow 477 393 408 257 206 
			 Havering 1,317 1,061 1,525 925 880 
			 Hillingdon 1,347 1,276 1,271 679 607 
			 Hounslow 1,275 1,051 1,386 746 673 
			 Islington 1,134 1,114 1,039 575 562 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 189 129 198 153 114 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 307 245 347 299 198 
			 Lambeth 932 780 806 548 468 
			 Lewisham 866 795 980 639 619 
			 Merton 632 577 704 346 346 
			 Newham 2,743 2,148 1,989 1,013 856 
			 Redbridge 841 691 823 565 515 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 229 254 326 197 145 
			 Southwark 1,656 1,339 1,360 958 711 
			 Sutton 663 564 739 404 406 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,888 2,172 2,398 1,782 1,526 
			 Waltham Forest 716 785 984 574 526 
			 Wandsworth 565 472 611 419 292 
			 Westminster 393 398 300 221 159 
			  Note: Data supplied by LFEPA, and includes both primary and secondary fires.

Fires

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many large outbreaks of fire there were in each fire authority in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Fires( 1, 2)  attended by five or more pumping appliances by FRS area, England: 1995-2004 
			  Number 
			  FRS area  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  England 1,934 1,666 1,420 1,446 2,261 1,554 1,711 1,655 1,890 1,476 
			
			  England-Non-Met counties 1,132 1,015 766 663 1,314 933 1,020 1,057 1,279 970 
			 Avon 10 46 16 23 37 36 31 37 63 34 
			 Bedfordshire 17 20 23 0 9 25 10 1 14 24 
			 Berkshire 28 28 12 13 40 22 1 23 30 39 
			 Buckinghamshire 28 21 10 6 24 15 4 31 16 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 20 23 8 5 35 16 18 16 13 19 
			 Cheshire 51 32 24 25 33 28 12 46 50 34 
			 Cleveland 25 14 22 4 37 17 25 29 5 27 
			 Cornwall 16 33 17 3 17 34 10 5 1 0 
			 Cumbria 9 7 1 10 7 15 17 11 11 9 
			 Derbyshire 25 15 8 9 17 8 12 17 16 12 
			 Devon 57 39 42 33 33 23 55 100 34 54 
			 Dorset 49 29 28 28 52 63 61 62 66 41 
			 Durham 15 1 14 5 4 7 7 8 6 9 
			 East Sussex 22 17 11 1 29 26 16 21 26 25 
			 Essex 58 42 33 23 67 45 69 21 72 2 
			 Gloucestershire 13 31 4 17 13 26 3 15 22 16 
			 Hampshire 41 44 30 33 69 65 51 34 84 39 
			 Hereford and Worcester 33 15 18 18 17 15 30 23 24 20 
			 Hertfordshire 55 21 14 26 58 26 27 24 28 22 
			 Humberside 47 48 19 20 72 24 51 68 59 12 
			 Isle of Wight 9 3 16 3 7 6 5 0 0 0 
			 Kent 92 116 60 45 '105 90 101 115 96 65 
			 Lancashire 20 28 34 53 78 42 43 33 46 51 
			 Leicestershire 25 18 35 31 33 22 13 24 20 20 
			 Lincolnshire 27 19 12 23 28 28 17 15 24 33 
			 Norfolk 36 13 24 10 53 29 38 42 48 39 
			 North Yorkshire 30 18 29 8 14 11 10 28 21 20 
			 Northamptonshire 16 13 6 8 54 11 2 4 36 19 
			 Northumberland 10 2 27 6 4 1 0 6 17 9 
			 Nottinghamshire 26 21 6 21 37 20 16 17 30 46 
			 Oxfordshire 15 29 27 16 49 20 25 5 39 14 
			 Shropshire 20 21 14 14 18 5 7 20 7 7 
			 Somerset 13 13 5 12 35 18 25 27 21 16 
			 Staffordshire 41 26 10 14 31 22 10 25 30 28 
			 Suffolk 46 78 18 36 16 15 39 30 48 40 
			 Surrey 13 20 27 9 20 5 46 16 58 26 
			 Warwickshire 21 5 15 16 5 0 13 25 13 36 
			 West Sussex 34 27 31 18 30 40 49 23 66 55 
			 Wiltshire 17 19 16 18 29 12 50 7 21 1 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			
			  England-Met Counties 802 651 654 783 947 621 691 598 611 506 
			 Greater Manchester 92 58 60 66 78 50 120 95 108 75 
			 Merseyside 50 38 31 38 69 33 22 48 28 21 
			 South Yorkshire 10 21 12 6 30 16 20 5 20 18 
			 Tyne and Wear 28 28 62 40 44 25 99 33 38 24 
			 West Midlands 117 126 156 249 209 197 126 135 136 138 
			 West Yorkshire 98 62 50 56 63 49 52 58 40 30 
			 Greater London 409 318 283 328 455 252 252 224 242 200 
			 (1) Including additional late call and heat and smoke damage incidents (not recorded prior to 1994). (2) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003.  Note: Figures are based on sampled data grossed to fire and rescue service totals.  Source: Fire and rescue service returns to DCLG

Fire Service

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the level of provision was during the recent Hertfordshire fire strike for interim fire and rescue cover  (a) to tackle fire and  (b) to assist with road accidents.

Angela Smith: Hertfordshire experienced three individual periods of strike action, on 20, 26 and 31 May 2006, each lasting for eight hours. The level of fire and rescue cover varied from 11 up to 16 pumping appliances, plus a specialist rescue vehicle. All pumping appliances had capability for both firefighting and road traffic accidents. The specialist rescue vehicle was for road traffic accidents. It was in service for the first two periods of strike action, but not for the last period, when the skills were available in other crews.

Fire Service

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government have to ensure inter-operability and improve communications between the fire service and the other emergency services.

Angela Smith: The Firelink project, providing updated wide area radio communications to the fire and rescue service, will roll out from this autumn through until 2009. Firelink will provide inter-operability with police and ambulance services at strategic and tactical command levels.

Golf Courses

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many golf courses were registered on the Ratings List for business rates in England in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: The number of properties described as a golf course in the 2005 Rating List for England, at 31 January 2006, is 1,786.

Green Belt

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how she defines inappropriate development with regard to Green Belt policy.

Yvette Cooper: In deciding whether a development is inappropriate in the Green Belt the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is guided by Planning Policy Guidance note 2 (PPG2), Green Belts.

Horses

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers are available to local authorities to deal with nuisance caused by horses  (a) roaming wild in urban areas and  (b) tethered on (i) public and (ii) private open space; and if she will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: I have been asked to reply.
	The Animals Act 1971 and the Highways Act 1980 contain provisions that relate to stray horses. Responsibility for enforcing this legislation lies with the police and local authorities.
	The Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act 1988 created a specific offence under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 of causing unnecessary suffering to a horse, ass or mule by the manner or condition of its tethering. Anyone can seek to bring a prosecution where there is evidence of cruelty, either by tethering or by allowing horses to run free.
	It is also an offence under the Abandonment of Animals Act 1960 to abandon an animal in circumstances likely to cause it unnecessary suffering. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of £5,000 or a six months imprisonment, or both.

House Prices

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average price of a home was in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: Average house prices for London boroughs and local authority districts from 1996 based on data from the Land Registry are published in Table 585 on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l156110

Housing (Hounslow)

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated to the London borough of Hounslow for the upgrading and repairs of council housing stock to meet the decent homes standard since 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Capital investment by the London borough of Hounslow since 1997 via the housing revenue account system is set as follows. ALMO—arm's length management organisations—allowances are included in these figures.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1997-98 15,200,000 
			 1998-99 12,523,000 
			 1999-2000 12,948,000 
			 2000-01 12,690,000 
			 2001-02 10,028,000 
			 2002-03 23,019,000 
			 2003-04 38,901,000 
			 2004-05 68,894,000 
			 2005-06 (Planned) 68,413,000

Housing Renewal (Morecambe)

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been allocated by English Partnerships to housing renewal in the West End of Morecambe under the West End Masterplan.

Yvette Cooper: Under the West End Masterplan for the renewal of the West End of Morecombe, English Partnerships have approved an investment of £8.6 million of which £4.5 million has been spent on land assembly and masterplanning works.

Intelligent Addressing

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what use  (a) her Department and  (b) local authorities make of Intelligent Addressing in geographical information systems.

Angela Smith: The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has a development and demonstration licence with the Improvement and Development Agency to use the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) data produced under contract by Intelligent Addressing. NLPG data supports the National Register of Social Housing data collection. DCLG has previously used Intelligent Addressing directly as a contractor to perform address matching.
	Local authorities access data and services provided by Intelligent Addressing through their Mapping Services Agreement.

Land Classification

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many hectares of land were classified as  (a) urban and  (b) suburban in each year since 1990, broken down by region.

Yvette Cooper: From the Department's statistics for Urban Settlements, the amounts of urban land in England were as follows:
	
		
			  Hectares 
			   1991  2001 
			 North East 57,200 60,200 
			 North West 153,100 160,300 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 114,100 121,000 
			 East Midlands 92,300 100,900 
			 West Midlands 122,700 129,200 
			 East of England 124,200 134,900 
			 London 130,600 130,500 
			 South East 190,100 205,100 
			 South West 103,000 116,700 
			 England 1,087,200 1,158,900 
		
	
	Urban settlements are defined here as settlements with a population of 1,000 or more. They are based on the built-up extent and not on administrative boundaries. They are available only for census years, when there is information on population down to the necessary geographic level.
	There is no standard definition of suburban areas and no information available centrally on their extent.

Land Value Tax

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the likely effects of introducing a land value tax.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government has not made any assessment of the likely effects of introducing a land value tax.

Local Authority Staff (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff were employed by each London borough in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect this information.

Local Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of complying with BS 7799 on information security.

Phil Woolas: As part of the Implementing Electronic Government return process, local authorities were asked to provide information on compliance with BS 7799 on information security management, as an advisory good practice outcome relating to the internal organisation and management practices of the council that are required to help deliver the people, systems and service management changes necessary for e-government. No specific estimate of the costs of BS 7799 compliance has been made, as this outcome is advisory in status only. However, every local authority in England has been allocated £900,000 in capital grant to help in Implementing Electronic Government up to the end of 2005-06.

Local Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the contact administration address is for each pension scheme within the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Phil Woolas: The information requested has been placed in the Library of the House.

Local Government

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government why the Audit Commission will not be reporting on Best Value Performance Indicator 199d for 2005-06.

Phil Woolas: Best Value Performance Indicator 199d measures the year-on-year reduction in the number of incidents and the increase in the number of enforcement actions taken to deal with fly-tipping. The indicator was introduced in 2005-06. It will not be possible to publish data showing year-on-year changes until the indicator has been in place for two years.

Local Government Finance

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was given to each London borough per person in the Local Government Finance Settlement in each year since 1997.

Phil Woolas: The table shows formula grant per head for each London borough for 1997-98 to 2006-07. Formula grant comprises Revenue Support Grant, redistributed business rates and principal formula Police Grant.
	Formula grant per head has been calculated by dividing the total amount of formula grant received by the authority and dividing through by the mid-year population used in the calculation of the formula grant. For 1997-98 to 2005-06, the latest population estimates were used. These relate to the period two-years before the period for formula grant. For example, in 2005-06, the mid-2003 population estimates were used. In 2006-07, the population projections relating to the period of formula grant have been used i.e. the mid-2006 population projections.
	Please note that these amounts are not comparable year-on-year due to changes in funding and function. For example, in 2006-07 support for school funding moved from Formula Grant (i.e. Revenue Support Grant plus Business Rates) to the dedicated schools grant.
	
		
			  Formula Grant per head 
			  £ per head 
			  Authority  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02 
			 City of London 18,164.52 15,852.79 16,047.26 16,256.25 14,534.16 
			   
			 Camden 982.61 961.99 984.95 1,004.76 1,007.84 
			 Greenwich 897.73 927.66 979.21 1,011.24 1,031.47 
			 Hackney 1,194.50 1,180.36 1,223.50 1,219.51 1,220.75 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 880.69 859.55 881.44 891.84 888.44 
			 Islington 1,034.01 1,031.03 1,057.50 1,095.58 1,131.96 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 707.27 678.37 676.28 663.68 658.17 
			 Lambeth 931.84 925.89 947.68 942.82 955.25 
			 Lewisham 876.35 913.88 943.20 971.95 984.69 
			 Southwark 979.61 1,017.10 1,079.73 1,111.58 1,142.66 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,374.95 1,445.85 1,505.97 1,529.05 1,557.43 
			 Wandsworth 755.36 732.30 755.23 763.54 770.85 
			 Westminster 994.83 919.91 907.86 882.24 858.16 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 723.85 788.88 860.49 895.62 939.30 
			 Barnet 544.66 564.16 575.81 590.74 609.57 
			 Bexley 552.35 597.26 645.43 672.22 707.46 
			 Brent 821.59 839.38 852.72 853.46 887.18 
			 Bromley 482.85 500.64 523.78 546.53 573.70 
			 Croydon 565.60 590.75 610.79 635.57 664.47 
			 Ealing 658.24 690.73 708.83 728.48 748.79 
			 Enfield 672.87 715.91 750.44 779.80 815.67 
			 Haringey 863.87 903.95 914.60 945.85 974.67 
			 Harrow 519.96 549.44 564.62 583.78 604.80 
			 Havering 497.14 527.39 551.82 578.43 606.61 
			 Hillingdon 564.99 579.41 601.07 628.46 657.98 
			 Hounslow 721.59 738.92 761.13 783.11 816.62 
			 Kingston upon Thames 485.93 495.37 508.72 520.12 540.01 
			 Merton 514.27 542.20 572.85 577.62 587.09 
			 Newham 1,059.98 1,147.08 1,193.80 1,236.93 1,279.71 
			 Redbridge 634.79 672.79 708.52 740.91 780.59 
			 Richmond upon Thames 374.93 381.37 388.29 393.32 404.90 
			 Sutton 546.11 569.83 598.98 620.89 652.49 
			 Waltham Forest 759.34 806.74 845.99 869.86 908.69 
		
	
	
		
			  £ per head 
			  Authority  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 City of London 13,974.07 13,336.05 13,658.95 13,990.73 10,892.15 
			 Camden 975.93 1,029.92 1,065.62 1,128.11 649.22 
			 Greenwich 1,024.41 1,141.71 1,191.33 1,273.76 637.32 
			 Hackney 1,227.81 1,349.32 1,406.90 1,529.12 926.93 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 881.52 933.38 960.60 1,022.59 607.79 
			 Islington 1,144.29 1,231.86 1,276.68 1,361.13 779.20 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 642.46 811.08 811.43 804.81 475.65 
			 Lambeth 973.20 1,062.03 1,109.44 1,184.75 720.99 
			 Lewisham 994.07 1,083.38 1,139.18 1,224.82 654.45 
			 Southwark 1,187.73 1,273.47 1,330.79 1,419.22 818.59 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,587.54 1,652.19 1,699.98 1,835.16 964.30 
			 Wandsworth 756.02 833.61 844.45 875.22 481.47 
			 Westminster 838.59 1,189.86 1,175.91 1,069.94 644.46 
			   
			 Barking and Dagenham 950.49 984.56 1,058.69 1,130.13 489.58 
			 Barnet 586.25 684.46 700.94 735.17 240.81 
			 Bexley 710.29 755.29 786.46 833.38 260.15 
			 Brent 877.72 952.43 973.54 1,053.47 568.01 
			 Bromley 551.10 611.57 630.81 661.23 184.43 
			 Croydon 681.04 742.02 769.71 812.14 306.90 
			 Ealing 742.43 827.53 850.90 918.79 422.17 
			 Enfield 815.37 861.06 897.12 952.19 351.52 
			 Haringey 990.07 1,071.42 1,086.46 1,143.28 583.70 
			 Harrow 623.92 707.04 737.48 789.50 278.34 
			 Havering 619.26 687.16 720.61 754.58 209.03 
			 Hillingdon 647.95 749.14 786.76 844.87 286.72 
			 Hounslow 792.16 859.34 885.70 951.47 381.50 
			 Kingston upon Thames 522.92 585.92 616.03 662.54 208.76 
			 Merton 588.37 648.65 675.70 731.91 307.94 
			 Newham 1,311.56 1,396.40 1,416.75 1,514.26 742.24 
			 Redbridge 753.08 795.06 828.45 882.46 326.06 
			 Richmond upon Thames 412.06 503.07 512.91 537.24 126.87 
			 Sutton 635.30 702.69 754.39 815.00 263.32 
			 Waltham Forest 932.00 991.33 1,022.27 1,080.25 492.69

London Mayor

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much extra funding the Government plan to provide to the Greater London Authority to finance the new responsibilities of the London Mayor.

Phil Woolas: In line with our policy of meeting net new burdens costs, the Government are committed to meeting reasonable net additional costs falling on the GLA as a result of its new responsibilities.

Mineral Extraction

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on applications for mineral extraction operations in areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today.

Mineral Extraction

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the impact of quarries on  (a) residential areas and  (b) areas of outstanding natural beauty;
	(2)  what her Department's definition is of an exceptional circumstance, for the purposes of Minerals Policy Statement 2, in which mineral extraction would be allowed in an area of outstanding beauty;
	(3)  what steps she has taken to satisfy herself that Minerals Policy Statement 2, on controlling and mitigating the environmental effects of mineral extraction in England, protects areas of outstanding natural beauty from unnecessary and damaging quarrying.

Meg Munn: Planning guidance to local authorities on planning applications in areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) is set out in Planning Policy Statement (PPS)7 Sustainable Development in Rural Areas. PPS7 states that AONBs confirmed by the Government have the highest standards of protection in relation to landscape and scenic beauty. Major developments (including mineral working) should not take place in these areas except in exceptional circumstances and applications for such developments should be subject to the most rigorous examination. Major development proposals should be demonstrated to be in the public interest before being allowed to proceed and will need to be assessed against the criteria set out in paragraph 22 of PPS7. However, it will be for local planning authorities to decide on a case by case basis whether exceptional circumstances exist which would allow them to grant planning permission for a minerals development in an AONB.
	No recent assessment of the impacts of mineral operations on residential areas or areas of outstanding natural beauty has been undertaken by my Department. Any adverse potential impacts of quarries will need to be considered by mineral planning authorities after applications for planning permission have been submitted. Mineral operators will need to demonstrate to local planning authorities in planning applications including (where appropriate) through the preparation of environmental impact assessments that their proposals are acceptable. Minerals Policy Statement (MPS)2 "Controlling and Mitigating the Environmental Effects of Minerals Extraction in England" stresses that mineral planning authorities should take account of the full range of social, community, economic and environmental issues relevant to the planning decision. Any adverse effects on local communities, environmental damage or loss of amenity must be kept to an acceptable minimum. MPS2 advises mineral planning authorities on the use of appropriate planning conditions, which must be capable of being monitored, to mitigate any environmental impacts. Where adverse environmental effects cannot be adequately controlled or mitigated through the design of proposals or the attachment of conditions, planning permission should be refused.

Ministerial Visits

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will visit Kettering to attend a public meeting to discuss her Department's housing expansion plans for Northamptonshire.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 6 July 2006
	We consider that Kettering plays an important part in the growth proposals for North Northamptonshire. We are kept regularly updated on development of the plans to take these forward and I chair the regular Milton Keynes and South Midlands Inter Regional Board. In addition, officials are closely involved with the borough council and other partners in bringing forward housing, growth and other agendas. There have already been a number of ministerial visits to North Northamptonshire and more are planned. DCLG Ministers are more than happy to discuss housing development in Kettering with key partners during future visits to Northamptonshire.

Multi-foil Insulation

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research she has commissioned on the insulating qualities of multi-foil insulation products.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned the Building Research Establishment to provide 'The thermal performance of multi-foil insulation' a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

Multi-foil Insulation

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to building control officers regarding the use of multi-foil insulation products.

Angela Smith: The Department for Communities and Local Government issued guidance to building control officers in England and Wales on 19 June, following its circular letter on 30 March in which we mentioned UKAS accreditation. We have since understood that UKAS accreditation was not possible since there was no adopted test method, so the Department wrote to LABC Services and the Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors on 19 June and referred them instead to the Approved Documents for Part L, Conservation of Fuel and Power, and Regulation 7 which sets out ways for assessing fitness for purpose for materials.

Multi-foil Insulation

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how multi-foil insulation products are treated under Approved Document L of the Building Regulations.

Angela Smith: Part L of the Building Regulations and its associated Approved Documents do not refer to multi-foil insulation or any other type of insulation product. The Approved Documents indicate that the methods for calculating thermal performance and establishing the thermal properties of insulation materials must be as described in BR443 "Conventions for U-value calculations".

National Land and Property Gazetteer

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the Audit Commission plans to undertake a formal audit of the probity and efficiency of public expenditure on the National Land and Property Gazetteer.

Phil Woolas: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission. The Chief Executive of the Audit Commission has written to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter has been placed in the Library of the House.

National Land Information Service

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Land Information Service; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The National Land Information Service is a community interest company, and the Government do not therefore have any formal role in assessing its effectiveness.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what stock was transferred from the Government wine cellar to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: None.

Ordnance Survey

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments the Valuation Office Agency makes to Ordnance Survey (OS) outside the pan-government OS agreement for access to the imagery and photographic data that OS holds.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency does not take any imagery or photographic data from Ordnance Survey and consequently makes no payment for such.

Pathways to Work

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures exist in Pathways to Work to assist individuals who may be continuously in and out of work due to  (a) multiple sclerosis and  (b) other long-term and fluctuating medical conditions.

Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
	Our Welfare Reform Bill set out our plans to assess people based on the effects a condition has on a person's capacity to work. This is not done on the basis of a single "snapshot" assessment but over a reasonable period of time given the nature of the condition. In this way we will take account of the effects of fluctuating and long-term conditions. Personal advisers have the freedom to waive or defer a work-focused interview where a claimant is unable to participate for good reason.
	We aim to have a system that can be flexible to an individual's changing condition. We will be sensitive to each person's situation and take serious consideration of any medical advice given, such as that provided by a GP. Our services are delivered by personal advisers whose key motivating factor is the help they are able to offer. These advisers receive specialist training to give them the skills, knowledge, techniques and confidence to deal with customers whose circumstances include having a health condition or disability. If someone cannot reasonably participate in back-to-work activity because of their current health condition, they will not be required to do so. It is about people meeting with an adviser to discuss their circumstances and look for ways to improve the quality of their day-to-day living and perhaps begin to chart a route back to work.
	In Pathways to Work areas, our Condition Management Programmes have been effective in helping individuals with health conditions to return to work. The programmes, jointly delivered by Jobcentre Plus and NHS Primary Care Trusts, offer help to the very large proportion of people coming on to incapacity benefit who want and expect to work again but genuinely believe that they are too ill to do anything about it. The programmes are designed to assist individuals understand and manage their health conditions better, particularly in a workplace environment, and reflect current best clinical practice in the management of these conditions.

Planning (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many planning enforcement notices were issued in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Meg Munn: The number of planning enforcement notices issued in each London borough in each year since 1997 is presented in the following table:
	
		
			  Formal enforcement notices issued by London borough councils 1997 to 2005 
			  Council name  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 City of London 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Barking and Dagenham 9 5 1 5 14 15 20 12 16 
			 Barnet 51 36 38 47 42 27 53 67 97 
			 Bexley 24 1 15 5 10 4 6 9 15 
			 Brent 71 64 119 103 85 104 101 117 157 
			 Bromley 123 128 105 105 87 101 65 111 115 
			 Camden 64 67 73 105 62 64 41 47 27 
			 Croydon 23 19 32 11 25 30 13 14 42 
			 Ealing 11 39 26 30 44 46 31 59 46 
			 Enfield 46 40 42 29 27 14 18 64 88 
			 Greenwich 19 14 54 47 38 28 34 22 41 
			 Hackney 0 9 19 0 (3) n/a (0) 9 24 16 0 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 30 25 65 48 54 45 39 52 31 
			 Haringey 21 44 37 50 54 73 65 66 91 
			 Harrow 43 21 27 9 13 22 13 8 10 
			 Havering 17 14 13 8 8 11 16 22 20 
			 Hillingdon 10 12 7 (2) (0) 7 (3) 0 0 0 0 (3) 
			 Hounslow 9 34 43 54 30 56 51 8 38 
			 Islington 32 33 21 17 49 94 40 27 51 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 58 53 53 45 34 53 66 84 38 (3) 
			 Kingston upon Thames 13 9 10 (3) 12 20 17 23 36 13 
			 Lambeth 12 41 18 21 32 19 31 26 43 
			 Lewisham 7 6 2 (1) 7 (3) 3 7 18 26 28 
			 Merton 5 (3) 5 0 8 7 7 22 20 16 
			 Newham(1) 53 25 24 9 1 25 18 14 73 
			 Redbridge 35 24 55 26 21 19 0 1 10 
			 Richmond upon Thames 14 31 10 22 21 33 39 17 58 
			 Southwark(1) 12 15 5 6 4 7 9 26 9 
			 Sutton 13 2 (3) 14 11 9 10 20 11 19 
			 Tower Hamlets(1) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Waltham Forest 28 28 39 0 27 31 4 36 45 
			 Wandsworth 8 7 1 5 10 8 19 40 15 
			 City of Westminster 75 37 67 102 84 104 104 164 156 
			 Total 938 889 1,036 947 922 1,083 1,004 1,222 1,408 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) These councils included areas within London Dockland Development Corporation, however the statistics exclude enforcement within the LDDC. The LDDC served no enforcement notice during 1997 or 1998 when the LDDC was wound up.  Note: The number in parenthesis indicates how many quarters were reported.  Source: DCLG General Development Control Return, PS1.

Small Business Rate Relief

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 16 May 2006,  Official Report, column 928W, on small business rate relief, how many small firms she estimates claimed relief in 2005-06; and if she will estimate the proportion of small firms who were eligible who claimed the relief.

Phil Woolas: This information is not held centrally.

Sports and Leisure Facilities

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what conclusions on  (a) the relative merits of (i) private and (ii) public sector contracts for sports and leisure facilities and  (b) the future letting of contracts for sport and leisure facilities she drew from the Audit Commission report "Public Sports and Recreational Services".

Richard Caborn: I have been asked to reply.
	I agree with the report's conclusion that there is no single "best practice" model for managing local authority leisure services. The report makes clear that both the public and private sector can provide good public leisure services for local communities where councils have taken decisions based on a robust options appraisal. It is important that councils, with support from Government, continue to get better at managing their leisure provision which is why I have asked Sport England to work closely with them in taking forward the Audit Commission's recommendations.

Sports and Leisure Facilities

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she will take to improve strategic planning in leisure services following the publication of the Audit Commission report "Public Sports and Recreational Services".

Richard Caborn: I have been asked to reply.
	We want to help local authorities to revitalise their leisure facilities and to ensure that the right sports facilities are in the right places. Sport England has already developed a range of strategic planning tools to assist them. These include, among others: the Active Places database, which provides a comprehensive picture of sports facilities across the country; the National Benchmarking Service; a Facilities Planning Model; and a Sports Facilities Demand Estimator. In addition, I have charged Sport England with the task of driving forward work with local authorities to improve the quality of their sports facilities and service delivery. They are creating an Improvement Unit to deliver this.

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research the Valuation Office Agency has undertaken in relation to developing  (a) a national property database and  (b) a National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has maintained a national database of properties in England and Wales to enable it to discharge its statutory functions for many years.
	The VOA has not researched the development of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Valuation Office Agency

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 956-57W, on the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), when the VOA's communications strategy for the council tax revaluation was  (a) submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and  (b) last (i) updated and (ii) amended by the VOA.

Phil Woolas: The answer given to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 10 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 956-7W, explains that a communications strategy was being drafted by the Valuation Office Agency before the postponement of council tax revaluation in England, announced on 20 September 2005.
	Working jointly with the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Agency worked on a proposed strategy from late 2003. The draft was last amended in April 2005 and has not been updated since, due to the postponement.

Valuebill Database

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment the Government have made of whether the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model holds sensitive personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998.

Phil Woolas: The Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model (AVM) is a processing tool and does not hold data.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Accidents

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many accidents have taken place in establishments for which his Department is responsible in the last 12 months; how many court cases have arisen as a result; how much has been awarded in  (a) damages and  (b) settlements; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department has received three personal injury claims relating to accidents on its premises, since 1 July 2005. Two of the cases are ongoing and one was settled out of court, at a cost to my Department of £479.99 to cover costs for physiotherapy and damage to personal property.

Adoptions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children whose parents have learning difficulties were adopted in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: We do not collect centrally information on parents of looked-after children therefore figures are not available for the number of children adopted whose parents have learning difficulties.

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advertising campaigns the Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department's total spend on advertising campaigns was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2000-01 29,110,000 
			 2001-02 17,665,000 
			 2002-03 13,790,000 
			 2003-04 20,170,000 
		
	
	Campaigns over £500,000 are:
	
		
			  2000-01 
			   £ 
			 Don't Quit Now 2,700,000 
			 New deal 50 plus 2,400,000 
			 ICT Employability 2,011,000 
			 Childcare Recruitment 1,821,000 
			 Parents' Magazine 1,484,000 
			 Disability Discrimination 1,242,000 
			 Fast Track Teachers 1,056,000 
			 Modern Apprenticeships 856,000 
			 Individual Learning Accounts 612,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2001-02 
			   £ 
			 Adult Basic Skills 'Get on' 5,096,143 
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,504,000 
			 Science Year 2001/02 1,803,000 
			 Excellence Challenge 1,750,000 
			 Modern Apprenticeships 1,670,000 
			 Foundation Degree 1,325,000 
			 Fast Track Teachers 1,250,000 
			 Millennium Volunteers 848,000 
			 Parents' Magazine 770,000 
			 New Deal 25+ 633,000 
		
	
	
		
			  2002-03 
			   £ 
			 Adult Basic Skills 5,478,117 
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,741,377 
			 Aim Higher 2,649,999 
			 Connexions 1,320,331 
			 HE Funding 655,000 
			 Foundation Degree 549,397 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			   £ 
			 Adult Basic Skills 6,672,938 
			 Aim Higher 4,190,018 
			 Childcare Recruitment 2,986,659 
			 Foundation Degree 2,813,787 
			 Connexions 2,608,005 
		
	
	It is not possible, except at disproportionate expense, to provide a more detailed breakdown for actual dates for when each campaign ran, other than detailing the Financial Year within which the expenditure occurred.
	The Department runs a number of campaigns in support of our key delivery priorities, in order to inform our target audiences of how they are affected by our policies. All of our campaigns follow the guidelines which govern Government information on issues of propriety and cost.
	Every campaign is measured vigorously against specific communication objectives using pre- and post-campaign research, to record shifts in awareness, attitudes, knowledge or behaviour among the target audience(s).
	The Department employs tracking research to monitor these shifts over time and, typically, conducts telephone surveys of respondents to advertising campaigns, to monitor satisfaction with the services offered and actions taken as a result of the campaign. It routinely tests the likely effectiveness of different creative approaches on the target audience(s) through market research, as part of the development of advertising campaigns. Lessons learnt from previous campaigns are used to inform future ones.

Autism

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to provide specialist teacher training for the support of children with autism in mainstream schooling;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to support specialist teacher training for the support of children with autism in mainstream schooling.

Parmjit Dhanda: The framework for teacher training ensures that qualifying and newly qualified teachers, including those who support children with autism in mainstream schools, are aware of their responsibilities to children with special educational needs (SEN) and can plan effectively to meet these children's needs. Further, in-service training on particular SEN, such as autism, is a matter for schools and local authorities.
	In order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status, all trainee teachers must demonstrate that they understand their responsibilities under the statutory Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, know how to seek advice from specialists on less common types of SEN, can differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of pupils, including those with SEN, and can identify and support pupils who experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.
	The current standards for teachers are under review. Once revised, it is proposed that they will be strengthened to include a standard which requires teachers to know and comply with current legislation on well-being of children and young people and one which requires teachers to know and understand the role of others when dealing with children who have special needs and/or disabilities.
	Induction Standards require Newly Qualified Teachers to demonstrate that they can plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils in their classes with SEN, with or without a statement, and in consultation with the SEN Co-ordinator (SENCO), can contribute to the planning for individual needs.
	The Department's published SEN Strategy, 'Removing Barriers to Achievement' recognised the importance of training and committed us to work closely with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to ensure that initial teacher training and programmes of continuing professional development provide a good grounding in core skills and knowledge of SEN. We have commissioned the TDA to carry forward a range of initiatives designed to improve and strengthen the SEN skills and confidence of trainees, newly qualified and established teachers. These initiatives will be implemented over the period 2005-08 at a cost of approximately £1.1 million.
	All schools receive a School Development Grant which they are able to use to support improvements in any aspect of teaching and learning. Local authorities may retain a proportion of this grant, under certain conditions, to provide specific training and development of SEN.
	In 2002 we published jointly with the Department of Health, "Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs): Good Practice Guidance" which offered a series of pointers to good practice, including pointers on in-service training. The Guidance advises that,
	"all those who plan or provide for children with an ASD should have some knowledge and understanding of autism".
	Many schools, local authorities and Regional Partnerships have used the Guidance to develop their autism provision. The West Midlands Regional Partnership last month published "autism spectrum disorders: training policy and framework" to ensure more consistency in ASD training by clarifying the knowledge and skills that courses are aiming to cover. This has been distributed to all the Regional Partnerships.

BECTA

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the most recent review of the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency.

Phil Hope: The most recent review of BECTA was published in March 2003. Copies of the reports are lodged in the Commons Library and are also available on BECTA's website:
	www.foi.becta.org.uk

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects schools in Brent to receive funding from the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my predecessor on 9 January 2006,  Official Report, column 394W, when she was advised that Brent has been informed that it may expect to start in the programme in waves 7-9.

CAFCASS

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the timetable is for the allocation of cases in  (a) private and  (b) public law in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS).

Parmjit Dhanda: This is a matter for CAFCASS. Anthony Douglas, the Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with this information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Lamorna Wooderson, dated 20 July 2006:
	In my capacity as Acting Chief Executive, whilst Mr Douglas is on leave, I am responding to the recent parliamentary question that you tabled.
	 PQ 86962 - what the timetable is for the allocation of cases in (a) private and (b) public law in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
	CAFCASS aims to allocate all cases at the earliest opportunity. In public law we have a Key Performance Indicator, to allocate at least 70% of cases within 2 days of receipt by March 2007. At the end of May 2006 five of our ten regions are exceeding this target. The national average was 55.3%. In addition, we have a Key Performance Indicator, to allocate 98% of public law cases within 28 days of receipt. At the end of May we achieved this in 92% of cases, with 5 regions exceeding the target.
	We have an internal performance indicator that there will be no more than 4% of Private Law cases unallocated. At the end of May 3% of cases were unallocated. All but 4 regions met the target as 97% of requests received had been allocated by the month end.

Child Care

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many child care places were available in Swindon in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: The available information on child care places, for Swindon local authority area, is shown in Tables 1 and 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number( 1, 2 ) of day care places for children under eight years of age by type of provider, Swindon local authority area, position at 31 March each year, 1997 to 2002 
			  Type of provider  1997( 3)  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			 Day nurseries n/a n/a 1,100 1,100 1,100 n/a 
			 Playgroups and pre-schools n/a n/a 1,600 1,500 1,500 n/a 
			 Child minders n/a n/a 2,200 2,200 2,100 n/a 
			 Out of school clubs n/a n/a 550 680 840 n/a 
			 Holiday schemes(4) n/a n/a 2,700 1,300 1,400 n/a 
			 Family Centres n/a n/a (5)—- (5)—- (5)—- n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 or 100 places. (2) Data Source: Children's Day Care Facilities Survey. (3) Affected by local government reorganisation on 1 April 1997. (4) From 1999, places were counted once for each school holiday. Before 1999, places were counted once each year. (5) Under 5. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number( 1, 2 ) of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care, Swindon local authority area, position at 31 March each year, 2003 to 2006 
			  Type of care  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Full day care 1,200 1,800 2,100 2,200 
			 Sessional day care 1,400 1,400 1,300 1,200 
			 Child minders 1,900 1,800 1,800 2,000 
			 Out of school day care 1,300 1,500 1,500 1,400 
			 Crèche day care 100 100 100 100 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest 100 places. (2) Data Source: Ofsted. 
		
	
	The figures for child care places for 2003 to 2006 are not directly comparable with the day care figures for 1997 to 2001. The figures for 2003 to 2006 were derived from the Ofsted database of registered child care providers. The figures for 1997 to 2001 were derived from the Children's Day Care Facilities Survey, which was discontinued in 2001. There are no figures for 2002.
	With the introduction of the National Day Care Standards and the transfer of responsibilities for registration and inspection of child care providers from local authority social service departments to Ofsted in September 2001, child care places were classified according to the type of day care provided: full day care, sessional day care, child minder, out of school day care or crèche day care. Ofsted have produced figures based on this classification on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Their latest figures were published on 5 May 2006 in their report "Registered Childcare Providers and Places, 31 March 2006", which is available on their website, www. ofsted.gov.uk/publications
	Up until March 2001, child care providers were classified according to the type of provider: day nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools, child minders, out of school clubs and holiday schemes. Figures based on this classification were published in a series of statistical bulletins, which are available from the Department's website, www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics

Child Deaths

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Part 8 reviews into child deaths have occurred in each local authority area in each of the last 10 years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Child Protection Database, maintained by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, provides the data in the table on the numbers of confirmed Serious Case Reviews (SCRs), following the death of a child, in each local authority since 2000. Accurate data prior to 2000 are not available. The following table includes only those authorities where a child death has led to a confirmed SCR and provides an overall total for between 2000-05. In order to maintain the confidentiality of individual children who were the subject of a SCR, ((1)—) denotes fewer than three SCRs. The data for 2006 are not yet complete.
	
		
			  2000-05 
			  Responsible Council  Number 
			 Barking and Dagenham (1)— 
			 Barnsley 4 
			 Bedfordshire 4 
			 Birmingham 12 
			 Blackpool UA (1)— 
			 Bolton 9 
			 Bournemouth UA 3 
			 Bradford 4 
			 Brent (1)— 
			 Bristol UA (1)— 
			 Calderdale (1)— 
			 Cambridgeshire (1)— 
			 Camden (1)— 
			 Cheshire 5 
			 Cornwall (1)— 
			 Coventry 4 
			 Croydon (1)— 
			 Cumbria 3 
			 Derby UA (1)— 
			 Derbyshire (1)— 
			 Devon 4 
			 Doncaster 6 
			 Durham 5 
			 Ealing (1)— 
			 Enfield — 
			 Essex 5 
			 Gloucestershire 3 
			 Hackney (1)— 
			 Hartlepool UA 4 
			 Havering 4 
			 Hertfordshire 7 
			 Hounslow (1)— 
			 Isle of Wight UA 1 
			 Islington (1)— 
			 Kent (1)— 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull UA (1)— 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 3 
			 Kirklees 4 
			 Knowsley (1)— 
			 Lambeth (1)— 
			 Lancashire 5 
			 Leeds 4 
			 Leicester UA (1)— 
			 Leicestershire (1)— 
			 Lewisham 3 
			 Lincolnshire 3 
			 Liverpool (1)— 
			 Luton UA 5 
			 Manchester 12 
			 Medway Towns UA (1)— 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1)— 
			 Newham 8 
			 Norfolk (1)— 
			 North Lincolnshire UA 5 
			 North Somerset UA (1)— 
			 North Yorkshire (1)— 
			 Northamptonshire 11 
			 Northumberland (1)— 
			 Nottingham UA (1)— 
			 Nottinghamshire 7 
			 Oldham 3 
			 Other (1)— 
			 Plymouth UA 3 
			 Rochdale (1)— 
			 Rotherham (1)— 
			 Sandwell (1)— 
			 Sheffield 3 
			 Solihull (1)— 
			 Somerset (1)— 
			 Somerset (1)— 
			 South Gloucestershire UA (1)— 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA (1)— 
			 Southwark (1)— 
			 St. Helens (1)— 
			 Stockport (1)— 
			 Stockton-on-Tees UA 3 
			 Stoke-on-Trent UA 6 
			 Suffolk 6 
			 Sunderland (1)— 
			 Surrey (1)— 
			 Sutton (1)— 
			 Swindon UA 6 
			 Tameside (1)— 
			 Thurrock UA (1)— 
			 Torbay UA (1)— 
			 Trafford 3 
			 Wakefield 6 
			 Waltham Forest 4 
			 Warwickshire (1)— 
			 Westminster (1)— 
			 Wigan 3 
			 Wirral (1)— 
			 Wolverhampton 3 
			 Worcestershire (1)— 
			 (1 )Fewer than three SCRs.

Chinese Students

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students from mainland China studied in England in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table:
	
		
			  Students from mainland China who studied( 1)  in English higher education institutions in each year since 1997 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 1997/98 2,070 
			 1998/99 3,040 
			 1999/2000 4,990 
			 2000/01 8,685 
			 2001/02 15,265 
			 2002/03 26,975 
			 2003/04 36,580 
			 2004/05 39,280 
			 (1) Figures include both undergraduate and postgraduate students and also full-time and part-time students.  Notes: 1. Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December (excluding those writing up, on sabbatical or dormant). 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record data.

Diplomas

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what projections he has made of the number and proportion of pupils in the fourth key stage who will opt to study for  (a) a general diploma and  (b) a specialised diploma in each of the first five years following their introduction;
	(2)  what his Department's targets are for the take-up of  (a) academic and  (b) vocational qualifications in each of the next five years;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of pupils  (a) in the fourth key stage and  (b) between the ages of 14 and 19 years he expects to opt for vocational qualifications in each of the next five years.

Jim Knight: Chapter 6, paragraph 18, of the 'Department's Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners', published on 8 July 2004, set out our aim to extend vocational options across all schools as part of our commitment to strengthening choice and the personalisation of the curriculum. To support this aim, the Strategy stated that we will dramatically increase the number of 14-16 year olds studying vocational subjects in schools, colleges and training providers to just over 180,000 by 2007-08.
	The Department published its projections for 14-16- year-olds' take up of specialised Diplomas in the 14-19 Implementation Plan, Chapter 1, page 20, figure 1.3. A copy of the Implementation Plan is in the Library. Figure 1.4 shows the estimated participation of 16-18- year-olds in education and work-based learning over the period 2002/03 to 2014/15. We expect the numbers of young people participating to increase as more learning options become available to them. We also expect the balance of provision to shift towards specialised Diplomas as these come onstream.
	Young people wishing to do just GCSEs will be able to do so. They will also be eligible for award of the General Diploma when this is introduced in 2009.

Electronic Children's Database

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1384W, on the Electronic Children's Database 
	(1)  what plans he has to prevent accidental loss or theft of data stored in the index;
	(2)  what plans there are  (a) to link and  (b) to enable data-sharing between the Information Sharing Index and the National Identity Register;
	(3)  what rights  (a) children,  (b) their parents and  (c) children on the index who have reached adulthood will have to view their personal data stored on the Information Sharing Index;
	(4)  what legal requirement there will be permanently to delete information from the Information Sharing Index once  (a) the child reaches adulthood and  (b) a set period of time has passed;
	(5)  whether the Information Sharing Index will hold  (a) fields and  (b) information for Audit Trail log files on which organisations or individuals have been examining or amending individual records;
	(6)  what the differences are between the Information Sharing Index database and Integrated Children's system database;
	(7)  what plans he has to introduce offences for the misuse or abuse of the database;
	(8)  whether he plans to establish the statutory limitation on what data the Information Sharing Index will hold and which public sector bodies can access the database by means of  (a) primary legislation and  (b) secondary legislation.

Beverley Hughes: In relation to questions 86889 and 86903, the Information Sharing Index will be designed to ensure a high level of physical and environmental security to protect against natural hazards that could interrupt service. Arrangements will be in place to enable operations to continue effectively, notwithstanding any system component failures. There will be an effective and tested contingency plan that would, for example, ensure that a back-up system is in place.
	We see no need to introduce specific offences as there are already measures in criminal law which impose penalties for theft or misuse of data or unauthorised access to computer records. Mandatory training for all users and operators of the index will stipulate that the Data Protection Act provides that a serious offence, with a penalty of a fine up to the statutory maximum, will be committed where personal data is unlawfully obtained or disclosed without the consent of the data controller. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 provides that unauthorised access, or attempted unauthorised access to a program or data held on a computer may be punishable by imprisonment.
	In relation to question 86901, all index use will be monitored through the creation of an audit trail record. Users will be required to supply a valid reason when searching for and viewing an index record. All access to any record will be recorded and reviewed regularly for suspicious patterns of access. Misuse of the index will therefore be detected and dealt with through internal disciplinary procedures or the criminal measures referred to.
	In relation to question 86890, the index will not be linked to the National Identity Register, nor are there plans for data-sharing between them.
	In relation to questions 86892 and 86891, the Children Act 2004 provides that records of children and young people will remain on the index until they reach age 18. There is also provision for records of young people who receive additional services—for example, care leavers and those with learning disabilities—to remain on the index, with their consent, up to age 25 in order to provide continued support in the transition to adult services. We will be consulting over the autumn on draft regulations that will, among other issues, propose a period of time during which records will be kept in a secure archive before permanent destruction.
	Children, young people, and parents when acting on their behalf, have rights under the Data Protection Act to see the data that is held about them on the index and to request that incorrect data is corrected or removed.
	In relation to question 86902, the Information Sharing Index is a central database containing a basic record on all children in England, with contact details of practitioners working with them. There will be no case information on the index record. The Integrated Children's System (ICS) is not a database. ICS is a framework that provides a set of principles for case record management by local practitioners working with individual children in need (as defined under the Children Act 1989) and looked-after children. ICS is not itself an IT system, but it is IT-enabled to help practitioners carry out their key tasks effectively.
	In relation to question 86978, section 12 of the Children Act 2004, and affirmative resolution regulations to be made under section 12, will set out the information that must or may be included on the index and specify the types of practitioner whose role would make it appropriate for them to have access. Consultation on the draft regulations will run over the autumn.

Examinations

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils under the age of 18 years sat  (a) SATs  (b) GCSEs,  (c) GNVQs and  (d) A-levels in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 July 2006
	The information required is in the following table.
	
		
			  Pupils under the age of 18 entered for tests or exams 
			  Thousand 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Key Stage1( 1)  
			 Reading task(2) 589.2 604.1 603.7 583.0 581.4 568.6 557.9 — — 
			 Reading test(3) 488.3 499.8 512.3 503.9 505.2 495.3 487.6 — — 
			 Writing task(2) 572.0 585.6 587.4 569.0 570.0 558.5 545.2 — — 
			   
			  Key Stage 2( 4)  
			 English 546.5 568.7 593.9 589.0 601.0 608.9 604.8 580.5 579.8 
			 Mathematics 553.2 574.6 599.4 595.2 606.5 613.7 609.1 585.5 584.6 
			 Science 554.2 577.2 602.5 598.3 610.4 619.2 617.3 594.0 592.0 
			   
			  Key Stage 3( 4)  
			 English 491.2 500.1 524.0 527.9 539.7 561.4 551.6 544.7 569.0 
			 Mathematics 520.0 518.9 543.2 550.7 565.0 582.5 579.2 586.0 595.1 
			 Science 514.4 519.0 542.9 548.5 559.9 578.3 578.0 582.8 595.0 
			   
			 GCSE 551.6 545.1 553.3 554.1 577.4 581.5 597.3 618.2 618.1 
			 GNVQ 3.7 7.0 11.7 14.2 9.3 64.5 123.7 67.0 79.6 
			 GCE/VCE A-level 231.3 236.0 236.0 231.4 241.0 257.9 268.7 265.3 263.6 
			 (1) The 2004 and 2005 figures have not been made available as they are not directly comparable to figures prior to and including 2003. This is to reflect the following: in 2004 a trial took place in which some local authorities (LAs) were asked to only submit teacher assessments to the Department, and the remaining LAs continued to submit both. in 2005, for the first time, schools were only required to report teacher assessments. (2) Figures are calculated as pupils eligible for assessment less those who were absent (A), disapplied (D) and "working towards" level 1 (W). (3) Figures are calculated as pupils eligible for assessment less those who were absent (A), disapplied (D) and not require to be entered for the reading tests (X). (4) Figures are calculated as pupils eligible for assessment less those who were absent (A), working below the level of the test (B) or disapplied/unable to access the test (A/T).

Foreign Language Teaching

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school children are taught at least one foreign language.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data on the number of primary school children learning languages. However, in January 2005 the findings of Headspace, a survey of head teachers by Education Guardian and Edcoms, indicated that 56 per cent. of all primary schools in England were planning for or implementing language learning programmes to their pupils,  (b) In 2005, the percentage of pupils at the end of key stage 4 attempting any modern foreign language examination was 59 per cent. (375,300 pupils out the cohort of 633,400).

Further Education Colleges

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1984W, on further education colleges, from which providers' prospectuses he found evidence of these types of courses.

Bill Rammell: Information about tarot card reading, stand-up comedy and various forms of cake decorating courses is available on the learndirect website (http://www.learndirect.co.uk/) or the London Floodlight website (http://www.floodlight.co.uk/). The websites provide course information plus details of those colleges and other providers which offer the course.

GCSE/A-levels

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students re-sat at least one examination at  (a) GCSE and  (b) A-level in each of the past five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

GCSE/A-levels

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many completed examination papers at  (a) GCSE and  (b) A-level were lost in each of the past five years.

Jim Knight: The National Assessment Agency (NAA) collected data on the number of GCSE, AS and A-level examination scripts missing on results day in 2004 and 2005; comparable data is not available for previous years. More than 20 million exam scripts circulated in summer 2005 across all awarding bodies. The number of scripts missing prior to marking was as follows:
	
		
			   Missing scripts 
			   2004  2005 
			  GCSE/GNVQ   
			 Total for AQA, Edexcel and OCR 3,411 3,054 
			
			  AS, A-Level and Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE)   
			 Total for AQA, Edexcel and OCR 3,235 2,204

Gifted Pupils Register

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the creation of a gifted pupils' register; and what assessment he has made of the merits of such a proposal.

Jim Knight: The National Register is a key part of our programme to support gifted and talented learners in our schools. The National Register will help schools to identify these learners, as requested in the Schools Census, including those aged 11-19 who are eligible for membership of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. It will enable schools and local authorities to target interventions where necessary to help pupils at risk of underachieving to fulfil their potential. We are also exploring whether higher education institutions might use data from the register to assist with their widening participation strategies.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Home Department on protection of children on the internet and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill.

Parmjit Dhanda: My right hon. Friend and I have been informed of the content of discussions between DfES and Home Office officials and representatives of the industry about the provisions in the Bill for vetting chat room moderators. My hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety wrote to the Moderation Sub-Group of the Home Secretary's Taskforce for Child Protection on the Internet setting out the two Departments' response to the concerns raised by the group. Discussions are continuing with a view to clarifying how the requirements in the Bill will work alongside the "Good Practice Guidance for the Moderation of Interactive Services for Children", which the taskforce published in November 2005. There is ongoing discussion at official level on matters arising from the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill which impact upon both Departments as and when they occur as well as a range of other areas concerning child protection on the internet. The taskforce child protection measures sub group has, for example, set up a working group, of which DfES is part, to look at the safety issues for children caused by the development and growth of social networking sites.

School Finance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if his Department will take steps to ringfence schools spending to ensure the appropriate level of investment is allocated to providing ergonomic, height adjustable furniture in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government believe that schools are best placed to decide how to deploy the resources available to them through their delegated budgets and allocations of devolved formula capital and to decide on the appropriate level of investment to maintain the fixtures and fittings of their schools, including ergonomic furniture.

School Sport

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools have a playing field or playground where students can practise sports and participate in physical education lessons; and how much land was in use as school playing fields in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Data on areas of school playing fields and external spaces were supplied to my Department by local education authorities in 2001 and 2003. However, the completeness and quality of the data are not good enough accurately to assess the proportion of schools that have playing fields or playgrounds where students can practice sports and participate in physical education lessons. Nor can the data provide information on the total area of land in use as school playing fields.
	Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 was introduced in October 1998 to stop the indiscriminate sale of school playing fields. Local authorities and governing bodies of all maintained schools now need the Secretary of State's consent before they can dispose of a playing field or any part of a playing field.
	Since 1998, 175 applications to sell an area of school playing field capable of forming at least a small sports pitch have been approved. Of these, 73 related to playing fields at closed or closing schools. In every case the sale proceeds were used to provide new or improved sports or educational facilities.

School Toilets

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools have toilets fitted with (i) hippos, (ii) cistern and flush controls and (iii) other water saving devices.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold information on how many schools have fitted cistern displacement devices (such as hippos), cistern and flush controls and other water saving devices. However the Water Regulations (Water Regulations Advisory scheme 2005) require automatic controls to be fitted to all new or refurbished urinal flushing cisterns. Comprehensive guidance on the fitting of water saving devices in schools is available in a new free publication "Sustainable water management in schools(1)".
	(1) Publication reference CIRIA W12, 66 pages, available for free download from http://www.ciria.org/downloads.htm

Sign Language

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which colleges offered a British Sign Language course for the academic years  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05,  (c) 2005-06 and  (d) 2006-07; which colleges expect to offer such a course in 2007-08; and what public funding supported or is planned to support such courses in each year.

Bill Rammell: Data on the particular courses offered by colleges are not held centrally. However, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) holds information on which FE providers have at least one LSC-funded learner taking a British Sign Language course for 2003/04 (336 providers in total) and 2004/05 (312 providers). A list of these FE providers will be placed in the House of Commons Library. Full year figures for 2005/06 are not yet available as the academic year which spans 1 August to 31 July has not finished, but an initial list based on enrolments at 1 October 2005 will also be provided in the House Library. Full-year information for 2005/06 is likely to be available in December 2006.
	FE college planning data for 2006/07 or 2007/08 at the level of individual courses are not required by the Learning and Skills Council. The Learning and Skills Council plans provision with FE providers at a higher and more aggregated level i.e. Full level 2 achievements, etc.
	In 2004-05 the LSC funded 641,000 learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities at a cost of around £1.5 billion. Continuing investment in this provision remains a priority, which was confirmed in our 2006-07 Grant Letter to the LSC and the LSC has in turn made clear in its strategic planning guidance the priority it attaches to this provision.

Speech and Language Development

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what guidance is available to children's trusts on joint working between agencies responsible for supporting children with communication disabilities;
	(2)  what professional support is available to assist early years practitioners to assist children with communication disabilities;
	(3)  what assessment the Department has made of the long-term impact for children with a speech and language disability;
	(4)  what steps he has taken to improve parental awareness of Government support for children with communication disabilities;
	(5)  what assessment his Department has made of the merits of implementing a national unitary framework for special educational needs.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Joint Planning and Commissioning Framework for Children, Young People, and Maternity Services, published in March 2006, aims to help local partners to put in place a unified planning and commissioning system which will put improved outcomes at the centre of their thinking, will create a clear picture of what children and young people need, will make the best use of resources, and will join up services so that children and young people with multiple needs experience a seamless service.
	To assist the process of joint working, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health have commissioned a study of good practice in the provision of speech and language therapy services to children and young people with special educational needs in the age range 0 to 19. A research team from Christ Church College Canterbury is carrying out this study and the fieldwork is currently under way.
	The Department recognises that early identification of need, early intervention and early co-ordinated support are key in improving outcomes for children with communication difficulties. As part of a major new £250 million investment in improving the quality of the early years work force, the Department has identified training to support practitioners working in private, voluntary and independent sector settings in meeting the needs of disabled children and their families as one of four priority areas. This is new money and complements the training resources already available to local authorities through the General Sure Start Grant. The Department has also funded the development in partnership with 45 partnership areas of a wide range of practical resources and training materials through the Early Support Programme.
	The Department is supporting a longitudinal study by the university of Warwick looking into the learning needs of a group of children with specific language and communication difficulties, the characteristics of the current provision made for them and its impact, their aspirations for the future and the ways in which services can best support them. The results of the study are due to be published in autumn 2006.
	Parental awareness of speech and language difficulties is of course very important. In 2005 the Department published a detailed and well received information booklet for parents on speech and language difficulties under the Early Support Programme. This resource was produced in close collaboration with specialist organisations in the voluntary sector and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. It explains how children normally develop communication, language and speech, how adults can help in this, the difficulties that can arise and how to seek help from professionals.
	In the report of their inquiry into special educational needs published on 6 July 2006, the Education and Skills Select Committee make recommendations concerning the possible shape and nature of a national framework on SEN. We are considering the Select Committee's report very carefully and will respond in due course.

Speech and Language Development

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what advisory support services  (a) are provided by his Department and  (b) the Department funds the voluntary and community sector which offer information and support to children identified as having communication disabilities;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of implementing a national delivery model for schools and other educational settings to support children's speech and language development;
	(3)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of speech and language skills in England; and if he will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: The Department does not itself provide advisory support services for children with communication disabilities. We have however published a detailed information booklet for parents on speech and language difficulties under our Early Support Programme and we continue to look for opportunities to work in collaboration with relevant voluntary sector organisations. We have, for example, given grants for particular projects to the Association For All Speech Impaired Children (AFASIC), I CAN, the Aiding Communication in Education Centres and the Selective Mutism Information and Research Association (SMIRA).
	The Primary and Secondary National Strategies provide a range of support and guidance to schools and childcare settings on the teaching of English and the development of speaking and listening skills, including frameworks to help teachers meet the requirements of the National Curriculum. The primary framework for teaching literacy is currently being revised, and we are developing a statutory framework for care and learning for children aged between birth and five—the Early Years Foundation Stage. Both of these documents will emphasise the importance of supporting children's development of speaking and listening skills from an early age. We have also rolled out a national training programme—Communicating Matters—for practitioners in early years settings, dealing specifically with children's language acquisition. This training, which relates closely to the curriculum guidance for the Foundation Stage, includes a module focused on support for children with additional needs.
	Speech and language skills are assessed by teachers on an ongoing basis in all key stages including the Foundation stage. Speaking and listening is an explicit element of the overall subject level for English and it is reported within the overall subject level for English at the end of each key stage; it is not reported separately. In the Foundation Stage, it is reported within communication, language and literacy in the Foundation Stage Profile.
	The Department has also indirectly assessed levels of speech and language development in Sure Start Local Programme areas to monitor progress towards its targets in this area. This has been collected using the Sure Start Language Measure (SSLM), a parental report tool used to measure change in the language skills of two year old children in Sure Start Communities. SSLM data collected by Sure Start local programmes has shown that between 2001-02 and 2004-05 the proportion of children in Sure Start areas with a high word count score at age two and whose parents were not worried about their development rose from 70 per cent. to 74 per cent.

Student Finance

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of graduates were paying back income-contingent student loans in each year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Borrowers enter repayment status in the April after they leave their course as they are, in principle, eligible to repay their loans. However, borrowers only make repayments when they are earning over £15,000 and those earning less are not required to make any repayments.
	The following table shows the number in repayment status and the numbers who made a repayment in each financial year. Full data is not yet available for more recent financial years.
	
		
			   Financial year 
			   2003-04  2002-03  2001-02  2000-01 
			 Total in repayment status 568,500 298,300 100,000 35,500 
			 Total who made a repayment(1) 270,900 132,600 42,600 14,500 
			 Percentage making a repayment 48 44 43 41 
			 (1 )Figures include those who made a repayment but who are not in repayment status.  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. 
		
	
	The repayment system is still relatively young. The table shows an increasing proportion repaying each year as older cohorts earn more and pass the threshold. However, full cohorts did not enter repayment until 2002-03 onwards. These larger, new cohorts have a negative impact on the percentage repaying compared to the positive impact of the older, but smaller, cohorts. This 'drag' effect will become less evident as more cohorts move into repayment and the system reaches a steady state.

Student Loans

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimates he has made of the average time graduates in each year since 1990 will take to pay off  (a) mortgage-style student loans and  (b) income-contingent student loans; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The currently estimated average times for loans to be fully repaid are  (a) around eight years for mortgage-style loans and  (b) around 13 years for income-contingent loans. There is no evidence available to suggest that there is any difference in time taken to repay between particular borrower cohort years.
	In both cases, the average number of years is counted from the statutory repayment due date, which is the April following the year of graduation.

Sure Start

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many places are available on Sure Start schemes in Swindon; and what percentage of eligible children are on each scheme.

Beverley Hughes: There are three Sure Start children's centres up and running in Swindon offering services, including 56 child care places, to 2,739(1 )children under five and their families. These build on the earlier Sure Start Local Programme set up in 2001 to offer services to 804 children under four. Information on numbers using children's centres' services is not available yet, however information for the month of March, 2005 (the latest available) shows 28 per cent.(2) of children in Swindon had significant contact (that is, a home visit or attendance at a centre-based activity) with the Penhill and Pinehurst Sure Start programme.
	(1) 2,739 children include 804 children previously served by the 1 SSLP in Swindon that has become a children's centre.
	(2 ) Source:
	Sure Start Local Programme data returns March 2005.

Sure Start

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children have participated in Sure Start schemes in each constituency since its introduction.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested by constituency is not collected centrally. Between 1999 and 2003, 524 Sure Start local programmes were approved to deliver services to 400,000 children aged under 4 and their families in disadvantaged areas. The latest information available (for March 2005) shows an average of 23 per cent. of children had significant contact (that is a home visit or at a centre-based activity) with their local Sure Start programme. We expect all of these to become children's centres providing services to children aged under 5 and their families. The first children's centres were approved in 2003. By the end of September 2006 we expect children's centre services to be offering services to 893,977 children. By March 2008 we expect this to rise to 2,132,279 children across England, including all those living in the 30 per cent. most deprived areas.

Translation

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what interpretation and translation service provision his Department makes for people  (a) visiting his Department,  (b) telephoning his Department and  (c) visiting his Department's website.

Parmjit Dhanda: The procedure for visitors and telephone calls is to use the DfES internal network services. The network provides information on officers who are native or fluent in a language and can be called upon when required.
	The Department provides official languages for its website in association with official language bodies. It does not provide translation in any other language at present. It should be noted however that our website is being moved in 2007 to a new technical infrastructure that will allow multiple language capability.
	DfES operates a Welsh Language scheme in accordance with section 21(3) of the Welsh Language Act 1993. Although the Department has limited responsibilities in Wales, any telephone helplines, or similar facility we set up to give information, services or support in Wales, to the public, we would provide a Welsh language service.

Truancy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the levels of truancy in secondary schools in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold data on pupils recorded as truant. However, the figures for the proportion of half days missed due to unauthorised absence (of which truancy forms a part) in maintained mainstream secondary schools in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997 are given in the table as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in maintained mainstream secondary schools( 1 ) due to unauthorised absence( 2) 
			   Rural areas  Non-rural areas 
			 1997/98 0.6 1.2 
			 1998/99 0.6 1.1 
			 1999/2000 0.6 1.1 
			 2000/01 0.7 1.0 
			 2001/02 0.64 1.16 
			 2002/03 0.64 1.14 
			 2003/04 0.70 1.20 
			 2004/05 0.76 1.31 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Figures are only available to 1 decimal place prior to 2001/02. 
		
	
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Tuition Fees

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster are exempt from tuition fees.

Bill Rammell: The number of students in Barnsley and Doncaster local authority making no contribution to their tuition fees in 2004/05 was 970 and 1,430(1) respectively.
	Students on full-time undergraduate courses and their families are expected to make a contribution towards the cost of their tuition based on household income. Students from lower income backgrounds are wholly or partially exempt from paying tuition fees.
	From 2006/07 upfront fees are abolished and full-time students will be eligible for tuition fee loans of up to £3,000. In addition, we expect around 30 per cent. of students to receive a maximum maintenance grant of £2,700 and an HE institution bursary of at least £300. Overall, we expect around half of all eligible students to receive at least some maintenance grant.
	(1) Numbers rounded to the nearest 10 students.

Under-25s

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people under the age of 25 years were not in education, employment or training in  (a) Hyndburn and  (b) England in (i) the last year for which figures are available and (ii) 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The following table shows the percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training for Hyndburn constituency, Lancashire LEA and England. Figures are for 2004 and are the latest available; figures for 1997 are not available.
	
		
			  Geographic area  Percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training, 2004( 1) 
			 Hyndburn 16 
			 Lancashire 12 
			 England 14 
			 (1) To reduce the margin of error, figures have been produced by combining information from the Local Labour Force Survey for 2002, 2003 and 2004. However, sample sizes for Hyndburn and Lancashire are still small and are subject to sampling variability. Care should be taken when interpreting the figures.

University Admissions

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received from university admissions tutors on the relative value of A-levels and the International Baccalaureate in admission assessments; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 18 July 2006
	I am not aware of any such representations. Higher education institutions are autonomous organisations and are entirely responsible for their own admission assessments, entry requirements, and decisions.

University Staffing Costs

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the staffing costs were of each  (a) university and  (b) former polytechnic in (i) 1976-77, (ii) 1979-80, (iii) 1985-86, (iv) 1996-97, (v) 1997-98, (vi) 2001-02 and (vii) 2004-05; and how many full-time equivalent students there were at each university in each year.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the following tables. Information for the former polytechnics for the years prior to 1996-97 is not held centrally. Figures for 1979-80 were not published; figures for 1978-79 are given instead.
	
		
			  Expenditure on total staff costs and student full-time equivalent numbers Universities in England 
			   1976/77  1978/79  1985/86 
			  Institution name  Staffing costs (£000)  Full-time equivalent student load  Staffing costs (£000)  Full-time equivalent student load  Staffing costs (£000)  Full-time equivalent student load 
			 Aston 6,483 5,076 9,110 5,554 14,329 3,599 
			 Bath 4,456 3,734 6,335 3,835 15,722 3,799 
			 Birmingham 16,739 8,527 20,124 8,975 48,439 8,939 
			 Bradford 6,553 4,553 8,650 4,994 16,410 4,436 
			 Bristol 12,548 6,746 16,028 6,804 38,395 7,099 
			 Brunel 4,286 2,642 5,567 2,898 15,026 3,196 
			 Cambridge 18,896 11,633 25,196 11,968 61,614 12,567 
			 City 4,720 2,546 6,056 2,977 14,305 3,326 
			 Durham 5,045 4,278 6,670 4,269 17,643 4,996 
			 East Anglia 4,155 3,507 5,808 3,883 16,213 4,383 
			 Essex 3,036 2,523 4,024 2,860 10,834 3,082 
			 Exeter 4,932 4,333 6,844 5,165 15,825 4,943 
			 Hull 5,157 4,616 6,804 5,227 15,318 4,862 
			 Keele 3,158 2,725 4,125 2,983 8,715 2,759 
			 Kent 3,732 3,329 5,035 3,868 12,149 4,230 
			 Lancaster 4,871 4,232 6,742 4,610 16,095 4,530 
			 Leeds 16,317 10,058 20,990 10,451 52,903 10,374 
			 Leicester 6,140 4,214 8,174 4,478 22,330 4,729 
			 Liverpool 12,616 7,656 16,208 7,859 39,631 8,144 
			 London Graduate School of Business Studies 883 327 1,116 334 3,070 363 
			 London University 103,830 42,922 133,518 45,333 329,325 44,908 
			 Loughborough 5,325 4,001 8,059 5,284 23,045 5,295 
			 Manchester Business School 740 143 948 144 2,656 259 
			 Manchester University 18,895 10,765 24,706 11,385 55,337 11,539 
			 Manchester Institute of Science and Technology 7,295 3,874 9,711 3,899 26,996 4,019 
			 Newcastle 11,988 6,915 15,716 7,610 38,754 7,769 
			 Nottingham 10,199 6,359 13,741 6,704 34,485 7,364 
			 Oxford 20,259 12,503 27,296 12,946 68,695 13,139 
			 Reading 8,356 5,435 10,695 5,972 24,413 5,563 
			 Salford 6,231 4,545 7,874 4,714 16,764 4,143 
			 Sheffield 12,300 7,702 15,736 7,996 35,416 7,960 
			 Southampton 10,748 5,805 14,710 6,119 36,235 6,502 
			 Surrey 5,095 3,069 6,537 3,542 19,629 3,336 
			 Sussex 7,133 4,251 8,693 4,274 18,370 4,532 
			 Warwick 4,770 4,203 7,459 5,099 23,431 5,697 
			 York 3,884 2,918 5,203 3,216 13,220 3,606 
			  Source:  University Grants Committee. 
		
	
	
		
			  Expenditure on total staff costs and student full-time equivalent numbers Universities, former Polytechnics and University Colleges in England 
			   Expenditure (£000)( 1)  Student FTE numbers( 2) 
			   Institution  1996/97  1997/98  2001/02  2004/05  1996/97  1997/98  2001/02  2004/05 
			 0047 Anglia Ruskin University 35,325 34,593 49,083 54,321 14,020 13,805 17,555 18,330 
			 0108 Aston University 22,415 24,060 31,178 42,011 4,670 5,070 5,920 6,880 
			 0048 Bath Spa University 8,002 8,467 11,388 16,455 2,560 2,920 3,930 5,335 
			 0109 The University of Bath 41,169 42,790 58,270 72,411 6,390 6,735 8,525 10,380 
			 0127 Birkbeck College 19,335 18,886 28,904 37,839 6,500 6,385 6,880 7,060 
			 0110 The University of Birmingham 115,107 114,025 154,316 181,401 17,530 17,835 21,765 23,100 
			 0049 The University of Bolton 15,944 16,694 16,664 22,766 5,335 5,250 4,770 4,920 
			 0050 Bournemouth University 21,072 21,567 31,106 38,871 9,250 9,540 11,105 12,100 
			 0111 The University of Bradford 39,383 39,629 44,745 51,696 8,340 8,600 8,105 8,795 
			 0051 The University of Brighton 37,642 38,468 49,000 62,081 12,565 12,940 14,420 15,350 
			 0112 The University of Bristol 99,949 101,727 129,578 165,195 12,055 11,940 14,260 15,715 
			 0113 Brunel University 43,502 43,484 51,925 61,817 11,535 12,040 11,695 12,540 
			 0009 Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College 17,687 18,538 24,230 30,024 7,190 6,995 7,320 7,125 
			 0203 The University of Buckingham — — — — — — — 575 
			 0114 The University of Cambridge 151,581 159,109 227,791 334,764 16,010 15,990 18,015 18,395 
			 0012 Canterbury Christ Church University 17,927 19,366 27,862 40,702 7,025 7,220 9,305 10,365 
			 0052 University of Central England in Birmingham 44,911 45,842 58,509 74,183 17,845 17,200 16,735 17,925 
			 0053 The University of Central Lancashire 38,788 37,109 56,738 77,228 14,490 14,900 17,220 19,365 
			 0129 Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School 21,308 — — — 970 — — — 
			 0011 University of Chester 10,193 10,392 15,581 29,621 3,540 3,530 5,330 7,750 
			 0082 University of Chichester 7,173 8,293 9,514 12,861 3,110 3,915 3,605 4,100 
			 0115 City University 39,223 40,580 55,117 74,446 7,395 7,730 10,210 12,870 
			 0056 Coventry University 37,133 38,868 50,942 60,044 13,080 13,800 13,470 13,530 
			 0002 Cranfield University 50,524 50,424 63,850 71,515 2,455 2,590 2,720 2,985 
			 0068 De Montfort University 63,475 63,619 68,347 74,807 20,305 20,110 19,235 18,690 
			 0057 University of Derby 25,449 26,481 37,742 43,841 10,540 11,025 10,070 10,885 
			 0116 University of Durham 52,847 54,589 72,872 93,288 10,495 10,445 12,000 14,200 
			 0117 The University of East Anglia 40,935 42,328 56,657 72,599 5,385 9,420 9,075 11,095 
			 0058 The University of East London 34,129 33,040 38,244 46,792 10,040 10,065 10,430 12,190 
			 0118 The University of Essex 29,742 30,209 41,217 54,506 5,500 5,805 6,980 8,440 
			 0119 The University of Exeter 44,306 42,906 53,238 77,711 8,730 8,855 9,805 11,350 
			 0017 University College Falmouth 3,241 3,516 5,769 8,353 1,045 1,115 1,425 1,895 
			 0054 University of Gloucestershire 17,288 17,059 21,985 28,842 5,935 5,730 7,515 6,635 
			 0131 Goldsmiths College 20,328 21,200 28,289 32,960 5,145 5,565 5,870 5,875 
			 0059 The University of Greenwich 51,394 51,275 55,969 58,673 13,215 13,375 13,900 16,175 
			 0018 Harper Adams University College 5,068 5,341 7,297 8,863 1,530 1,535 1,610 1,425 
			 0060 University of Hertfordshire 44,822 45,304 58,530 73,777 14,225 15,000 15,775 19,325 
			 0061 The University of Huddersfield 31,532 31,206 40,605 46,393 12,035 13,225 12,935 13,360 
			 0120 The University of Hull 44,671 45,849 58,012 68,444 9,530 9,440 12,555 13,365 
			 0132 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 121,073 179,096 220,671 268,439 7,715 9,605 10,540 11,595 
			 0133 Institute of Education 14,085 14,905 21,213 28,673 2,270 2,290 2,310 2,970 
			 2001 Institute of Psychiatry (associated with King's College London) 16,997 — — — 355 — — — 
			 0121 The University of Keele 31,489 31,690 40,749 49,150 7,935 8,415 7,255 7,850 
			 0122 The University of Kent 39,991 39,347 47,323 58,893 8,105 7,905 9,975 12,215 
			 0134 King's College London 85,974 109,074 201,075 225,984 11,225 11,895 15,690 17,200 
			 0063 Kingston University 42,362 42,540 55,450 72,477 12,015 11,930 13,895 16,755 
			 0123 The University of Lancaster 44,231 40,978 52,603 69,903 8,345 8,455 9,200 10,825 
			 0064 Leeds Metropolitan University 43,786 42,496 63,450 83,788 14,005 15,105 17,120 20,770 
			 0124 The University of Leeds 129,829 130,309 175,116 213,023 20,775 21,225 25,510 28,655 
			 0125 The University of Leicester 62,721 64,689 84,422 103,176 11,145 11,195 12,640 12,365 
			 0062 The University of Lincoln 23,878 23,131 31,391 35,504 11,995 11,830 9,585 10,175 
			 0023 Liverpool Hope University 10,728 11,351 16,118 22,249 3,705 4,105 5,910 6,030 
			 0065 Liverpool John Moores University 51,405 52,196 60,352 77,552 15,105 16,270 16,925 17,930 
			 0126 The University of Liverpool 92,843 94,865 118,847 143,661 13,735 13,665 15,595 16,825 
			 0024 University of the Arts, London 39,903 41,693 55,476 73,314 8,415 8,320 9,845 11,760 
			 0135 London Business School 14,634 15,135 27,645 37,167 870 940 1,315 1,655 
			 0151 University of London (institutes and activities) 54,310 55,908 41,336 47,718 1,145 955 700 305 
			 0055 London Guildhall University 23,825 23,377 32,935 — 9,165 9,805 10,130  
			 0202 London Metropolitan University — — — 92,35420,645 
			 0076 London South Bank University 47,213 47,353 58,650 62,294 14,560 16,390 13,825 13,810 
			 0137 London School of Economics and Political Science 34,243 36,226 56,609 72,745 6,310 8,310 6,725 7,520 
			 0138 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine 16,511 16,956 25,956 30,377 930 640 770 800 
			 0152 Loughborough University 53,532 55,124 71,069 87,271 9,325 9,665 11,280 13,070 
			 0026 University of Luton 27,248 23,738 28,685 24,688 11,820 13,325 8,365 8,110 
			 0153 University of Manchester 139,582 142,790 181,833 — 20,910 20,890 22,270 — 
			 0165 The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology 47,631 49,238 63,179 — 6,850 6,860 6,465 — 
			 0066 The Manchester Metropolitan University 73,247 73,406 82,828 102,994 25,045 24,975 24,690 27,080 
			 0204 The University of Manchester — — — 311,796 — — — 32,525 
			 0067 Middlesex University 46,332 48,262 61,801 71,575 18,595 18,715 17,790 20,920 
			 0154 The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 92,946 93,190 127,992 142,721 12,655 12,950 14,770 16,635 
			 0070 The University of North London 31,556 32,193 41,112 — 11,610 11,660 11,975 — 
			 0027 The University of Northampton 22,738 23,362 26,740 33,446 8,015 8,880 9,210 8,640 
			 0069 The University of Northumbria at Newcastle 55,965 53,775 70,485 83,077 15,690 16,085 17,930 19,740 
			 0071 The Nottingham Trent University 56,895 57,686 73,169 84,605 21,585 21,420 21,655 22,770 
			 0155 The University of Nottingham 106,574 108,897 147,037 186,114 15,330 15,645 20,465 24,715 
			 0001 The Open University 121,001 119,270 175,537 197,976 63,335 57,710 66,185 64,130 
			 0072 Oxford Brookes University 35,811 36,629 53,868 70,095 9,520 10,035 12,165 14,450 
			 0156 The University of Oxford 153,306 158,426 209,869 268,808 16,000 16,250 17,100 18,400 
			 0073 The University of Plymouth 48,823 49,438 66,427 80,434 17,275 17,480 18,875 21,410 
			 0074 The University of Portsmouth 48,935 48,941 53,745 70,720 14,140 15,010 14,875 17,915 
			 0139 Queen Mary and Westfield College 78,455 76,344 87,665 106,077 7,485 7,805 8,190 9,865 
			 0157 The University of Reading 65,302 66,597 81,270 93,194 10,525 10,195 10,795 11,095 
			 0031 Roehampton University 18,670 18,464 24,035 28,100 5,530 5,880 6,305 7,260 
			 0140 Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine 19,273 20,334 — — 685 710 — — 
			 0141 Royal Holloway and Bedford New College 27,996 28,752 37,975 47,858 5,115 5,575 5,390 6,630 
			 0142 Royal Postgraduate Medical School 30,671 — — — 295 — — — 
			 0143 The Royal Veterinary College 9,924 10,346 14,852 21,250 620 640 865 1,285 
			 0145 St. George's Hospital Medical School 28,814 29,744 39,568 44,443 1,365 1,230 1,890 2,365 
			 0158 The University of Salford 57,039 56,615 68,509 83,573 13,760 14,760 16,610 16,220 
			 0146 The School of Oriental and African Studies 16,173 17,227 21,592 26,731 2,575 2,660 3,220 3,555 
			 0147 The School of Pharmacy 4,613 4,754 5,966 8,721 575 580 730 930 
			 0075 Sheffield Hallam University 61,893 57,315 75,775 91,132 19,980 19,265 21,900 22,755 
			 0159 The University of Sheffield 106,958 112,319 143,339 183,631 20,320 19,625 20,965 22,340 
			 0037 Southampton Solent University 25,245 25,870 33,010 34,050 13,750 11,500 9,630 9,490 
			 0160 The University of Southampton 87,938 93,325 127,332 166,246 13,030 14,565 16,305 19,090 
			 0077 Staffordshire University 35,762 35,309 44,811 48,601 12,870 13,025 12,580 10,820 
			 0078 The University of Sunderland 31,284 32,256 39,539 45,613 12,270 12,155 10,060 11,620 
			 0161 The University of Surrey 49,139 52,876 69,028 90,740 7,300 7,695 8,715 9,870 
			 0162 The University of Sussex 42,522 42,991 53,808 68,471 8,965 8,535 9,120 9,210 
			 0079 The University of Teesside 28,533 29,397 38,253 51,413 10,090 9,820 11,120 12,525 
			 0080 Thames Valley University 35,109 34,967 36,530 68,785 15,155 13,325 12,130 13,690 
			 0148 United Medical and Dental Schools, Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospitals 49,898 49,560 — — 2,220 2,270 — — 
			 0149 University College London 177,929 185,224 273,137 325,512 13,475 13,860 15,300 17,190 
			 0163 The University of Warwick 71,865 74,440 99,539 145,850 12,200 11,925 13,645 16,150 
			 0081 University of the West of England, Bristol 55,809 54,769 72,633 89,741 19,265 19,750 20,330 23,020 
			 0083 The University of Westminster 37,651 38,440 54,933 71,835 12,670 13,045 14,805 15,960 
			 0021 The University of Winchester 9,258 9,430 10,486 14,158 3,965 4,125 3,950 3,955 
			 0085 The University of Wolverhampton 45,697 45,473 55,332 71,199 16,485 17,995 15,855 16,265 
			 0046 University of Worcester 9,110 10,025 12,502 18,175 3,195 3,395 4,435 5,030 
			 0164 The University of York 44,395 46,345 65,092 87,240 6,680 7,115 9,145 9,685 
			  Notes: — indicates: No separate finance record was collected for that institution in that year. No Student Record was collected separately for that institution in that year.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency's Finance and Student records 1996-97,1997-98,2001-02, 2004-05 Students FTES have been rounded to the nearest 5.

Visual Impairment

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what support is provided by his Department for partially-sighted and blind pupils in  (a) primary,  (b) secondary,  (c) further and  (d) higher education;
	(2)  how much funding has been allocated by his Department for the provision of appropriate literature and equipment for partially-sighted and blind students in  (a) primary,  (b) secondary,  (c) further and  (d) higher education in (i) Somerset and (ii) England in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The special educational needs (SEN) code of practice provides advice to local authorities and schools on their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children who have special educational needs, including children who are blind or partially sighted. The code sets out a graduated approach to providing support. Many children who are blind or partially sighted will have statements of SEN. All statements are reviewed at least annually. The purpose of the review is to consider a child's progress, to ensure they are achieving desired outcomes and, if necessary, to amend their statements to reflect newly identified needs and provision.
	Children with SEN, including those who are blind or partially sighted, benefited from the substantial increase of £1,170 in the funding per pupil from £2,940 in 1997-98 to £4,110 per pupil in 2005-06 (a rise of nearly 40 per cent.) and from the increase in local authorities' budgeted expenditure on the education of children with SEN from £2.8 billion in 2001-02 to £4.5 billion in 2006-07. £300 million was also made available from 2003-04 through the schools access initiative to improve access to mainstream schools for disabled pupils. Recently a further £100 million per annum has been announced for both 2006-07 and 2007-08. Funds can be used for improving physical access, including adaptations for sensory disability such as improved colour schemes; access to the curriculum; access to written information in alternative formats. This encompasses information, communication technology equipment (both hardware and software).
	Decisions about the support provided for children in Somerset are a matter for the local authority, taking into account its statutory duties.
	The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has a responsibility under the Learning and Skills Act to support young people and adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, including learners with visual impairments. Overall, in 2004/05 the LSC supported more than 640,000 learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities which accounted for nearly £1.5 billion.
	Disabled students' allowances (DSAs) are available to help students in higher education with the extra costs they may incur on their course as a direct result of a disability (or specific learning difficulty).
	DSAs are paid in addition to the standard student support package; they are not means-tested and do not have to be repaid.
	In academic year 2004/05 (the latest for which figures are available) 64,200(1 )DSAs were awarded in England and Wales totalling £74.1 million. In addition there were over 2,600 OU students with DSAs worth around £3.5 million.
	(1) The total number of students in receipt of DSAs involves an element of double-counting since a student can have more than one allowance.

York Schools

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much capital expenditure there has been on schools which come under York local education authority in each year since 1986.

Jim Knight: Records are not maintained centrally of local authority capital expenditure on schools, as this is decided in accordance with local asset management plans and will depend upon local authorities' total sources of available funding. The Department has maintained records of capital allocations to local authorities for schools since 1996, and those for York city council and schools in its area are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1996-97 0.8 
			 1997-98 1.3 
			 1998-99 1.8 
			 1999-2000 4.5 
			 2000-01 7.4 
			 2001-02 4.8 
			 2002-03 25.5 
			 2003-04 9.7 
			 2004-05 9.4 
			 2005-06 8.7 
			 2006-07 28.3 
		
	
	The large allocations in 2002-03 and 2006-07 result, respectively, from a PFI allocation of £15.4 million and successful Targeted Capital Fund bids of £22.2 million.

York Schools

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much per child was spent on  (a) (i) pre-school, (ii) primary school and (iii) 11 to 16-year-old secondary school pupils in York schools and  (b) sixth formers (A) in York schools and (B) at York College in each year since 1996-97 (1) in cash and (2) at current prices.

Jim Knight: The Department does not hold any comparable expenditure information for pre primary pupils and it is not possible to distinguish figures for sixth formers from 11 to 16-year-old secondary pupils. The Department does not collect figures for York College. The available information is contained in the following tables:
	
		
			  School based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,4,5 ) and combined local authority and school based expenditure per pupil( 1,6 ) since 1996-97( 7,8,9) 
			  £ cash terms( 10,11) 
			   Primary school based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,4)  Pre-primary and primary school based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,4)  Secondary school based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,5)  Combined LA and school based expenditure per pupil( 1,6) 
			 1996-97 — 1,540 2,210 2,500 
			 1997-98(7) — 1,600 2,350 2,590 
			 1998-99(7) — 1,730 2,460 2,690 
			  
			 1999-2000(8,9) 1,760 1,800 2,430 2,710 
			 2000-01 1,860 1,870 2,640 2,850 
			 2001-02 2,180 2,260 2,830 3,130 
			  
			 2002-03 2,390 — 3,080 3,270 
			 2003-04 2,560 — 3,330 3,740 
			 2004-05 2,680 — 3,660 3,900 
		
	
	
		
			  £ real terms (2005-06 prices)( 10,11,12) 
			   Primary school based expenditure perpupil( 1,2,3,4)  Pre-primary and primary school based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,4)  Secondary school based expenditure per pupil( 1,2,3,5)  Combined LA and school based expenditure per pupil( 1,6) 
			 1996-97 — 1,920 2,760 3,110 
			 1997-98(7) — 1,940 2,840 3,130 
			 1998-99(7) — 2,040 2,900 3,170 
			  
			 1999-2000(8,9) 2,030 2,080 2,810 3,130 
			 2000-01 2,120 2,130 3,010 3,250 
			 2001-02 2,430 2,510 3,150 3,480 
			  
			 2002-03 2,580 — 3,330 3,530 
			 2003-04 2,680 — 3,490 3,920 
			 2004-05 2,740 — 3,740 3,980 
			 (1) The expenditure data to 1998-99 are drawn from the annual 'RO1' spending returns which local authorities submitted to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions. Figures for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 are drawn from section 52 (table 3) outturn statements which local authorities submitted to the DfES. Figures for 2002-03 onwards are taken from section 52 (table A) outturn statements. The change in sources is shown by the blank rows. (2) School based expenditure includes only expenditure incurred directly by local authority maintained schools. This includes the pay of teachers and school-based support staff, school premises costs, books and equipment, and certain other supplies and services, less any capital items funded from recurrent spending and income from sales, fees and charges and rents and rates. This excludes the central cost of support services such as home to school transport, local authority administration and the financing of capital expenditure. The pupil data are drawn from the DfES Annual Schools Census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. (3) From 2002-03 onwards the school based expenditure calculation is broadly similar to the calculation in previous years. However, 2001-02 and earlier years includes all premature retirement compensation (PRC) and Crombie payments, mandatory PRC payments and other indirect employee expenses, while from 2002-03 only the schools element of these categories is included. In 2001-02 this accounted for approximately £70 per pupil of the England total, while the schools element of these categories accounted for approximately £50 per pupil of the England total in 2002-03. Also, for some LAs, expenditure that had previously been attributed to the school sectors was reported within the LA part of the form from 2002-03 and would therefore be excluded from the school based expenditure calculation, though this is not quantifiable from existing sources. (4) Figures for the primary sector alone were not available until the inception of section 52 in financial year 1999-2000. The pre-primary figures are not sufficiently robust to use in this reply. (5) Secondary school based expenditure includes all expenditure incurred directly by local authority maintained secondary schools. It is not possible from existing sources to distinguish this expenditure between expenditure on 11 to 16-year-olds and expenditure on 6th form pupils attending maintained secondary schools. (6) Combined local authority and school based expenditure includes all expenditure on the education of children in local authority maintained establishments and pupils educated by the authority other than in maintained establishments. This includes both school based expenditure and all elements of central LA expenditure except youth and community and capital expenditure from revenue (CERA). Pupil figures include all pre-primary pupils, including those under fives funded by the authority and being educated in private settings (only available from 1999-2000), pupils educated in maintained mainstream schools and any other local authority maintained pupils. All pupil numbers are adjusted to be on a financial year basis. (7) Spending in 1997-98 reflects the transfer of monies from local government to central Government for the nursery vouchers scheme. These were returned to local government from 1998-99. (8) Figures prior to 1999-2000 exclude any expenditure on service, strategy and regulation. (9) The expenditure data for 1999-2000 onwards reflect the return of grant maintained schools to local authority maintenance. (10) '—'denotes figures are not available or have not been scored on a consistent basis (11) Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. (12) Cash figures are converted to 2005-06 prices using the 30 June 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) deflators.  Note: As reported by York local authority as at 17 July 2006.

PRIME MINISTER

Casinos

Hugo Swire: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  when  (a) he and  (b) his officials have held meetings in the last 12 months with casino operators interested in securing licences under the Gambling Act 2005; where each meeting took place; and what was discussed;
	(2)  what meetings  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with (i) Mr. Philip Anschutz and (ii) representatives of Anschutz Entertainment Group;
	(3)  what discussions  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with Anschutz Entertainment Group on its development of the millennium dome site and surrounding land.

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the meetings he has had with representatives of the Anschutz Entertainment Group and associated companies since 1997;
	(2)  what meetings he has had with  (a) casino developers,  (b) representatives of Kerzner International and  (c) representatives of the Anschutz Entertainment Group in the last five years.

Tony Blair: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
	I also refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) on 10 November 2004,  Official Report, column 696W.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Prime Minister when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 6 June about whaling and global warming.

Tony Blair: My Office had no record of receiving this correspondence at the time this question was tabled. However, my Office has since received copies of the letters. These have been forwarded to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for reply.

Declaration of War (Parliamentary Vote)

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister whether it is his policy that in future the House will be asked to vote before the UK declares war on another country; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 15 February 2006,  Official Report, column 2033W.

Gifts

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Prime Minister where he purchased the sweater recently given as a gift to the President of the United States; how much the item cost; and where it was made.

Tony Blair: It would not be appropriate to disclose this information.

Intelligence and Security Committee

Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to Paragraph B of the Government's Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee's Annual Report 2005-06, Cm 6865, what arrangements are in place under the Joint Intelligence Committee Chairman which are intended to ensure the opportunity for challenge and dissent at all levels across the intelligence community.

Tony Blair: At each stage in the preparation of Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) Assessments (the drafting of a paper, its consideration by the Current Intelligence Group, its review prior to circulation to the JIC, in discussion at JIC itself), there is careful testing of assumptions, inferences and judgements and encouragement of active debate about them. The challenge function within the Assessments staff itself has been strengthened.

Middle East

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he  (a) has made and  (b) plans to make to the (i) Government of Lebanon, (ii) Government of Syria, (iii) Government of Iran and (iv) United Nations about the honouring of the agreement brokered by the United Nations to protect the Northern Border of the state of Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to my statement of 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 151-54, and to the debate in the House on International Affairs on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 510-67.

Millennium Dome

Hugo Swire: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he had with  (a) the Deputy Prime Minister and  (b) officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in relation to the sale of the millennium dome.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Millennium Dome

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  when the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the sale of the millennium dome was  (a) created and  (b) dissolved;
	(2)  which Minister chaired the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the sale of the millennium dome.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the then Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Robin Corbett) on 19 December 2000,  Official Report, column 108W. The Ministerial Group on the Millennium Dome (MISC10) was dissolved in September 2003.

Ministers (Criminal Inquiries)

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Prime Minister what his policy is on informing the House when a Minister is questioned by the police in connection with a criminal inquiry.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my Official Spokesman on Friday 14 July. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Code

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make is his policy to strengthen the ministerial code to ensure that Ministers' taxation declarations and assessments are up-to-date.

Tony Blair: Ministers' personal taxation declarations and assessments are subject to the same rules as other citizens.

Ministerial Payments

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to ensure that a public register is maintained of all ministerial payments to charity in respect of free or subsidised overnight accommodation which is made available to them or their families.

Tony Blair: Hospitality received by Ministers, including when a charitable donation has been made, is declared in the Register of Members' Interests as appropriate.

Ministerial Visits

Hugo Swire: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he had  (a) to visit America in July 2005 and  (b) to visit Mr. Anschutz's ranch in Colorado.

Tony Blair: None.

Ministerial Visits

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit the Middle East.

Tony Blair: For security reasons, my future engagements are announced as and when appropriate.

Ministerial Visits

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Prime Minister which constituencies the Prime Minister has visited since 1997; and on how many occasions in each case.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 2 May 2006,  Official Report, columns 1385-1387W.

Official Gifts

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister how  (a) the Segway transporter,  (b) jewellery, watches and costumery,  (c) the electric Ferrari,  (d) the two daggers,  (e) wine and  (f) the archaeological artefacts gifted to his Office by the State of Israel and listed on the Donated Asset Reserve are displayed.

Tony Blair: The arrangements for the handling of gifts are set out in chapter 5 of the Ministerial Code.

Privy Council

John Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister what the mechanism is by which Ministers may sponsor potential candidates for the Privy Council; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I submit nominations to the Queen seeking her approval.

Red Tractor Day

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Prime Minister who provided the tractor that the Prime Minister used to launch Red Tractor Day, in Downing Street on 20 April; and where it was manufactured.

Tony Blair: The Red Tractor Day launch was organised by Assured Food Standards (AFS), who administer the Red Tractor logo.

Sir David Varney

Mark Hoban: To ask the Prime Minister whether he was consulted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the appointment of Sir David Varney as a senior adviser on Transformational Government.

Tony Blair: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what advertising campaigns the Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed on 8 June 2001 from parts of the former Department for Social Security, the former Department for Education and Employment, and the Employment Service. Information prior to 2001 is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department runs a number of promotional campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of rights and responsibilities. The dates and costs are given as follows.
	
		
			  (a) Dates of activity  (b) Annual cost (£000) 
			  Age Positive  
			 2001-02 6 
			 2002-03 706 
			 2003-04 70 
			 2004-05 29 
			   
			  Council Tax Benefit  
			 2003-04 556 
			 2004-05 674 
			   
			  Direct Payment  
			 2002-03 858 
			 2003-04 11,095 
			 2004-05 8,379 
			   
			  Disability Discrimination Act  
			 2001-02 2,882 
			 2002-03 50 
			 2003-04 40 
			 2004-05 1,992 
			   
			  Future pensioners/Informed choice  
			 2001-02 4,740 
			 2002-03 2,878 
			   
			  IB Reforms Pilot  
			 2003-04 113 
			 2004-05 106 
			   
			  Inherited SERPS  
			 2002-03 646 
			   
			  Jobcentre Plus Customer Marketing  
			 2003-04 1,401 
			   
			  Jobseeker's Direct  
			 2003-04 1,632 
			   
			  Lone Parent Leaflet Promotion Marketing  
			 2004-05 216 
			  Minimum Income Guarantee  
			 2000-01 3,365 
			   
			  National Employer Campaign  
			 2003-04 1,158 
			   
			  National Vacancy Campaign  
			 2004-05 390 
			   
			  New Deal  
			 2003-04 5,678 
			   
			  New Deal 25 Plus  
			 2001-02 613 
			   
			  New Deal for Disabled People  
			 2001-02 350 
			   
			  New Deal for Musicians  
			 2002-03 33 
			   
			  Pension Service Awareness  
			 2003-04 906 
			   
			  Pension Credit  
			 2003-04 9,907 
			 2004-05 4,388 
			   
			  State Pension Deferral  
			 2004-05 115 
			   
			  Second State Pension  
			 2002-03 489 
			 2003-04 216 
			   
			  Targeting Benefit Fraud  
			 2001-02 8,039 
			 2002-03 35 
			 2003-04 8,383 
			 2004-05 6,017 
			   
			  Winter Fuel Payments  
			 2001-02 475 
			 2002-03 627 
			 2003-04 625 
			 2004-05 515 
			  Notes: 1. The table does not include the following as the information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost. Spend by non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible details of highly localised publicity activity by the Department's customer-facing businesses recruitment or procurement advertising. 2. The figures in the table refers to media spend only, excluding production and other costs. 3. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 4. All figures are exclusive of VAT.

Age Positive Campaign

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent per head of population in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales on the Age Positive campaign in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06; and how much has been spent in 2006-07.

Jim Murphy: The Age Positive campaign operates nationally, covering England, Scotland and Wales. Costs for Scotland and Wales are not available separately. The approximate spend on the campaign was £646,000 for 2004-05, £913,000 for 2005-06 and up to the end of May 2006 £94,000 for 2006-07.
	The campaign is aimed at employers, not individuals, and aims to raise awareness amongst employers of the business benefits of employing older workers in a mixed age workforce. It is not appropriate therefore to express the amount spent on the campaign per head of population.
	The funding has enabled attendance at regional, sector and national events and exhibitions, has sponsored a number of age diversity awards, provided support materials; and overall had helpful the campaign to generate media coverage estimated to be worth £11.8 million since January 2004.

Benefit Applications

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to improve the training received by health care professionals involved in the application process for benefit assessments in respect of  (a) multiple sclerosis and  (b) other long-term fluctuating conditions.

Anne McGuire: All Medical Services doctors who carry out benefit assessments receive training in disability assessment medicine, which is constantly evaluated and improved. The training includes the need to take account of long-term fluctuating conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, and how these conditions affect a person over a period of time.
	They are supported in their work by evidence-based protocols that provide up to date guidance on disabling conditions and their effects.
	Doctors are also required to undertake continuing professional education on topics relevant to disability assessment.

Benefits

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas entitled to but not claiming state pension in each year since 1997; and what proportion this figure represents of all those entitled to state pension.

James Purnell: The information requested is not available. However, the proportion of pensioner units in receipt of some state pension income in Great Britain is shown in the table. The 2 per cent. without state pension income may include those not entitled as well as those deferring their state pension or misreporting their income when asked.
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 1997-98 98 
			 1998-99 98 
			 1999-2000 98 
			 2000-01 98 
			 2001-02 98 
			 2002-03 98 
			 2003-04 98 
			 2004-05 98 
			  Notes:  1. Results are for all pensioner benefit units, where a pensioner couple is defined as a couple where the man is at or above state pension age. 2. State pension income includes income from other contributory benefits for the elderly including widows' benefits and incapacity benefit. 3. Results are based on survey respondents' identification of different elements of benefit income, and are therefore subject to misreporting.  Source:  Table 3.3, Pensioners Income Series 2004/05 which is based upon data from the Family Resources Survey.

Benefits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate  (a) the total amount of (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) income support, (iii) jobseeker's allowance, (iv) pension credit, (v) council tax benefit and (vi) housing benefit erroneously paid to prisoners in each year since 1997 and  (b) the number of prisoners involved in each case.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available for incapacity benefit, council tax benefit, and housing benefit. The available information on the amount of income support, jobseeker's allowance, and pension credit overpaid due to fraud or customer error is in the table.
	There are no estimates available for how many prisoners would have been involved.
	
		
			  Estimates of benefit overpaid to prisoners through fraud or customer error 
			  £ million 
			  Incorrectness  Income support  Jobseeker's allowance  Pension credit 
			  2004-05
			 Fraud 6 0 0 
			 Customer error 0 1 0 
			 
			  2003-04
			 Fraud 2 0 0 
			 Customer error 2 0 0 
			 
			  2002-03
			 Fraud 2 0 0 
			 Customer error 0 0 0 
			  Notes: 1. All overpayments estimates rounded to the nearest £1 million. 2. Estimates are based on sampling exercises. Benefit paid incorrectly to prisoners form a small proportion of total overpayments. Estimates for them are based on reviews of small numbers of cases and so are subject to large sampling errors and other uncertainties. Sampling uncertainty is expressed in the form of confidence intervals - these have not been provided in these tables. 3. Estimates for overpayments to prisoners were not reported separately for earlier years.

Benefits

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people entitled to but not claiming  (a) housing benefit,  (b) council tax benefit,  (c) winter fuel payments,  (d) disability living allowance,  (e) incapacity benefit,  (f) income support,  (g) jobseeker's allowance and  (h) child support in each year since 1997-98, broken down by (i) rural areas and (ii) non-rural areas; what estimate he has made of the amount of unclaimed benefit in each case; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: Estimates for the main income-related benefits—income support/minimum income guarantee, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and income-based jobseeker's allowance—for eligible private household population in Great Britain, are available in the DWP report entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take- Up". Copies of the latest publication, which describes patterns in take-up since 1997-98, together with past reports, are available in the Library.
	Most people who qualify for a winter fuel payment do not need to make a claim because they are paid automatically from DWP records. Some people aged 60 or over who are not in receipt of a benefit administered by DWP do need to claim. Many men aged 60-64, for example, fall into this category and need to claim. However, we do not have any estimate for how many eligible people have not claimed.
	Currently it is not possible to estimate take-up rates for disability living allowance and attendance allowance. Following a recommendation in "Meeting DWP's long-term information needs on disability: a feasibility report", (DWP Research report number 267), the Department is commissioning research to test two possible approaches to establish whether it is possible to estimate take-up rates for these benefits. Results will be available in 2007.
	No estimates are available for incapacity benefit.
	Child support is not a benefit.

Carers Allowance

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt of carer's allowance in  (a) Barnsley East and Mexborough,  (b) Barnsley and  (c) Doncaster.

Anne McGuire: The administration of carer's allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of carer's allowance in  (a) Barnsley, East and Mexborough  (b) Barnsley and  (c) Doncaster.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Carer's allowance recipients as at November 2005 
			   Number 
			 Barnsley, East and Mexborough parliamentary constituency 1,130 
			 Barnsley local authority 2,490 
			 Doncaster local authority 3,240 
			  Definitions and Conventions: "-" nil or negligible; "." not applicable;  Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and expressed in thousands. Totals may not sum due to rounding.  Notes:  1. Only cases in payment are shown (those with underlying entitlement but not actually receiving payment have been excluded). 2. Government office region, local authorities and parliamentary constituencies have been allocated using the ONS postcode directory.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. 
		
	
	I hope you find the information helpful.

Carers Allowance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people are in receipt of carer's allowance in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) Great Britain; and how many there were in each year since its inception;
	(2)  how many people over the age of 60 have been registered as carers in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The administration of carer's allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 24 July 2006:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people are in receipt of a Carer's Allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK; and how many there were in each year since its inception; and (2) how many people over the age of 60 have been registered as carers in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	You have kindly confirmed that your second question referred specifically to how many people over the age of 60 are in receipt of Carer's Allowance in your constituency and in the UK.
	Prior to 2001, reliable figures for the number of people in receipt of Carer's Allowance are not available because data available then did not distinguish between those in payment and those with underlying payment.
	The information available is provided in the attached Appendix.
	I hope you find the information helpful.
	 Appendix:
	
		
			  Number of Carer's Allowance recipients as at November( 1)  of each year from 2001 to 2005 
			   Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency  South Tyneside LA  North East GOR  Great Britain 
			 2005 850 1,520 25,810 443,990 
			 2004 840 1,480 25,630 431,580 
			 2003 810 1,430 24,840 406,140 
			 2002 800 1,430 25,180 403,370 
			 2001 760 1,330 23,870 376,210 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of Carer's Allowance recipients aged 60 and over, as at November( 1)  of each year from 2001 to 2005 
			   Jarrow Parliamentary Constituency  South Tyneside LA  North East GOR  Great Britain 
			 2005 70 100 2,140 42,570 
			 2004 60 100 2,070 40,070 
			 2003 60 110 1,910 35,760 
			 2002 70 120 1,980 36,320 
			 2001 50 110 1,840 33,110 
			  Definitions and Conventions: "—" Nil or Negligible; "." Not applicable; Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. (1) Only cases in payment are shown (those with underlying entitlement but not actually receiving payment have been excluded).  Notes: 1. Figures are only available for GB because the Department for Social Security Northern Ireland (NI) is responsible for NI statistics. 2. 2001 and 2002 figures are as at December. 2003, 2004 and 2005 figures are as at November. 3. Government Office Region, Local Authorities and Parliamentary constituencies have been allocated using the ONS postcode directory.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study for 2003-2005 and 100% samples for 2001-2002.

Child Poverty

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of children in  (a) Houghton and Washington, East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area have been lifted out of poverty since 1997.

Jim Murphy: Information below regional level is not available.

Child Poverty

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty in  (a) Brent, East and  (b) Brent in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: Information below regional level is not available.

Command Papers

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the unnumbered Command Papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; how  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Documents which are laid before Parliament as unnumbered Command Papers are generally restricted to Explanatory Notes to Treaties, Explanatory Memorandum to Statutory Instruments and some Treasury Minutes. All other documents are published in the numbered Command Papers series.
	A complete list of unnumbered Command Papers can only be produced at disproportionate cost.
	Copies of all unnumbered Command Papers are made available via the Vote Office.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will reply to the letter of 5 May from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on overpayment of benefits.

James Plaskitt: holding answer on 16 June 2006
	I replied to the hon. Member on 8 June 2006.

Crisis Loans

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many telephone lines are available in Crewe and Nantwich that are dedicated lines to the North West call centre for crisis loans; how many missed calls were recorded per day on average in the last period for which figures are available; how many complaints have been received about those lines in the last 12 months; and how crisis loans can be accessed if his Department's local office is closed;
	(2)  where the officials answering calls to the telephone lines dedicated to applicants for crisis loans in the North West are located.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 July 2006:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many telephone lines are available in Crewe and Nantwich that are dedicated lines to the North West call centre for crisis loans; how many missed calls were recorded per day on average in the last period for which figures are available; how many complaints have been received about those lines in the last 12 months; how crisis loans can be accessed if the Department's local office is closed and where the officials answering calls to the telephone lines dedicated to applicants for crisis loans in the North West are located. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Social Fund Unit in Hartford House, Northwich is one of 13 such units in the Jobcentre Plus North West Region, which process applications for Crisis Loans. This unit covers more than one individual site. Customers can apply for a Crisis Loan by telephone (Crisis Loan Direct) or opt for a face-to-face interview.
	The Northwich unit administers the Social Fund for the area covered by the Cheshire and Warrington Jobcentre Plus District. Customers within this District are able to access the Crisis Loan team in Northwich by telephone, or by the freephone facility at their local Jobcentre. Nantwich Jobcentre has one telephone programmed for Social Fund customers and Crewe Jobcentre has four. Applications for Crisis Loans for the rest of the North West are processed in the following sites: Mitre House, Lancaster; Marton Mere, Blackpool; Barry House, Preston; Rusholme, Manchester; Graeme House, Chorlton; Park Road, Toxteth; Hordan House, Birkenhead; Edendale House, Huyton; Webster House, Kirkby; Eastbank House, Southport; Gregson House, St Helens; Kingsway House, Widnes; Newgate House, Rochdale; Elizabeth House, Bolton; Beech House, Hyde; and Brun House, Burnley. Overall, there are 110 dedicated telephone lines for Crisis Loans throughout the North West Region.
	I regret that I am unable to provide you with reliable data on the numbers of missed calls, as the current telephony system does not record this.
	The Northwich team receive an average of sixty-five Crisis Loan applications each day. In the last twelve months a total of fifty-five complaints have been received concerning the difficulties experienced by customers in accessing this service. A number of those complaints followed a period between October and November 2005 during which the telephony system experienced extensive service interruptions and suspensions. Jobcentre Plus is currently investing in an enhanced telephony and IT system, to improve customer service as part of our programme to transform Social Fund delivery.
	From April 2008 all Social Fund functions, including Crisis Loan Direct, for customers in our Cheshire and Warrington District will be delivered from a specialist unit in Belle Vale, Liverpool. Until then, Northwich will continue to administer Crisis Loan Direct.
	Those customers who need a Crisis Loan when our offices are closed (i.e. outside normal working hours) can access the "Out of Hours Service" (OOHS), by contacting their Local Authority, Social Services or the police. The Pension Service can also make a referral to the OOHS on a weekday night up to 20.00. These contacts have details of the OOHS dedicated telephone numbers.
	I am extremely concerned that your constituents have continued to experience difficulties in accessing the Crisis Loan service in Northwich, and can assure you that both my Regional and Local Social Fund Managers are taking action to address these capacity issues. I am confident that, as staff gain greater experience, with the introduction of a number of streamlined processes, and with improvements to the telephone service, we should be able to resolve these problems.
	Both Bill Marks, NW Region Benefit Delivery Manager and Angela Keith, NW Region Social Fund Manager, will be more than happy to discuss any further concerns you may have, and I have also asked that they arrange an early meeting with the appropriate Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Crisis Loans

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on crisis loans for people in each London borough in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.

Departmental Complaints

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints his Department received from  (a) hon. Members,  (b) advice agencies and  (c) the public in each of the last 24 months.

Anne McGuire: The following annexes provide details of complaints received in DWP in 2004 and 2005.
	I am unable to provide exactly the same information across all our businesses because, historically, the different agencies of the Department have counted complaints in different ways. This is an issue that we are now addressing, as part of work to bring a consistent approach to complaints handling across the Department.
	Complaints from advice agencies are not recorded separately from those for members of the public. However, the Appeals Service started recording them separately in April 2005, and, from that date, complaints from advice agencies are included in the overall figure, and shown in brackets alongside.
	
		
			  Complaints from members of the public and advice agencies 
			   Jobcentre Plus  The Pension Service  Disability and Carers Service( 1)  Child Support Agency( 2)  Appeals Service( 3)  Compensation Recovery Unit 
			  2004   
			 January (4, 5)4736 (6)— (7)1130 3248 54 5 
			 February (5)— (6)— (7)— 3340 58 11 
			 March (5)— (6)— (7)— 3901 59 10 
			 April 1317 2347 (8)1685 3363 45 10 
			 May 1430 2931 (8)— 3759 59 12 
			 June 2728 3627 (8)— 4091 67 26 
			 July 2890 3346 (9)1596 3985 52 4 
			 August 3460 2462 (9)— 3845 56 17 
			 September 3477 1954 (9)— 4108 44 5 
			 October 3112 1540 (10)1358 3742 53 4 
			 November 3332 1535 (10)— 4081 54 6 
			 December 2604 1109 (10)— 3009 36 10 
			
			  2005   
			 January 3234 1517 (11)1293 3395 56 0 
			 February 3164 1532 (11)— 3877 63 0 
			 March 3682 1520 (11)— 3988 77 6 
			 April 2273 1741 (12)902 4287 54 (14) 3 
			 May 2506 1307 (12)— 3370 47(5) 0 
			 June 2488 1218 (12)— 3705 45(12) 0 
			 July 2840 1623 (13)917 3340 61 (13) 8 
			 August 3062 1945 (13)— 3589 67(10) 3 
			 September 2887 1942 (13)— 3727 63(18) 3 
			 October 2928 1979 (14)997 3671 49(13) 2 
			 November 3104 2257 (14)— 4110 56(15) 5 
			 December 428 1464 (14)— 3156 40(7) 1 
			
			  2006   
			 January 516 1899 (15)1112 3965 66(13) 5 
			 February 755 1980 (15)— 3932 43(9) 5 
			 March 537 2110 (15)— 4324 72(13) 7 
			 April 483 1331 n/a 3078 (16)— 4 
			 May 541 1346 n/a 3484 (16)— 2 
			 (1)Figures recorded only on a quarterly basis (2) Figures are for First Stage of the complaints process, Treat Official and Chief Executive complaints, some of which may come from MPs (3) Until April 2005, the Appeals Service included all complaints in one count (4 )Figures recorded on a quarterly basis until April 2004 (5 )Total (6) Figures could not be retrieved within the required timescale (7) Total (8) Total (9) Total (10) Total (11) Total (12) Total (13) Total (14) Total (15) Total (16)The Appeals Service moved to the Department for Constitutional Affairs in April 2006. n/a=Not yet available. 
		
	
	
		
			  Complaints from Members of Parliament 
			   Jobcentre Plus  The Pension Service  Disability and Carers Service  Child Support Agency( 1)  Appeals Service( 2)  Compensation Recovery Unit 
			  2004   
			 January 165 208 (3)— 428 — 1 
			 February 126 199 (3)— 551 — 0 
			 March 203 247 (3)— 569 — 0 
			 April 144 191 163 566 — 0 
			 May 132 161 263 499 — 1 
			 June 160 169 269 592 — 0 
			 July 224 181 319 723 — 0 
			 August 144 145 293 755 — 0 
			 September 168 193 315 722 — 1 
			 October 170 207 290 755 — 0 
			 November 198 217 368 891 — 0 
			 December 125 180 305 705 — 1 
			
			  2005   
			 January 148 204 289 714 — 0 
			 February 180 213 352 962 — 0 
			 March 235 201 328 987 — 6 
			 April 165 196 185 793 6 3 
			 May 106 97 185 719 2 0 
			 June 216 127 292 789 4 0 
			 July 230 134 290 814 3 8 
			 August 296 98 199 754 6 3 
			 September 232 121 210 798 9 3 
			 October 208 101 230 820 11 2 
			 November 238 132 242 1001 4 5 
			 December 192 119 218 814 4 1 
			
			  2006   
			 January 199 58 207 717 4 1 
			 February 227 73 250 873 6 0 
			 March 335 90 296 837 6 0 
			 April 227 83 233 649 (4)— 0 
			 May 299 79 250 780 (4)— 0 
			 (1) Figures are for MP complaints to business units; MP complaints to Chief Executive are included with other Chief Executive complaints in Annex 1 (2) Until April 2005, the Appeals Service included all complaints in one count (3) Figures could not be retrieved within the required timescale (4) The Appeals Service moved to the Department for Constitutional Affairs in April 2006. 
		
	
	Debt Management did not keep separate statistics for complaints and general correspondence, with all letters received being logged as correspondence regardless of content, until the roll out of the new Debt Management Complaints Process on 1 July 2005. Complaints statistics were then maintained separately from correspondence as shown.
	
		
			  Debt Management 
			   Source of Complaint 
			   Customer  MP  3( rd)  Party 
			  2005
			 July 48 10 13 
			 August 49 15 23 
			 September 38 23 19 
			 October 57 18 29 
			 November 98 19 78 
			 December 72 14 87 
			 
			  2006
			 January 118 17 132 
			 February 134 8 131 
			 March 208 7 174 
			 April 162 6 89 
			 May 141 7 49 
			  Notes: The "3rd party" category includes next of kin, appointees and executors as well as welfare rights organisations. The "Customer" category includes both written and verbal complaints by the customer. The table reflects figures across Debt Management, including the Enforcement Initiative. 
		
	
	 The Rent Service
	The Rent Service has provided figures for the period January 2004 to April 2006.
	They received 73 letters of complaint from the public, and one letter of complaint from an MP.
	 Health and Safety Executive
	Figures for the Health and Safety Executive are not provided as they do not deal directly with customers.

Departmental Staffing

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what arrangements are made within the Department and its agencies for maintaining in its employment those  (a) over 50 years and  (b) with a disability in circumstances of (i) a period of sickness absence and (ii) local staff restructuring.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not discriminate on grounds of age. From October 2006 staff below Senior Civil Service grades will no longer have a mandatory retirement age in DWP. This means that once they have reached the minimum pension age of 60, staff themselves decide when to retire.
	Where staff incur a period of sickness absence the Department provides extensive support to all staff through its Occupational Health Service contract, Employee Assistance Programme and generous sick leave provision if an employee is sick or has an incapacity.
	The Department considers reasonable workplace adjustments in all cases where the Disability Discrimination Act could apply. These ensure the employee is not placed at a disadvantage in comparison to other employees. The Department takes seriously its responsibilities for managing attendance and has developed a supportive policy and procedures for managing sickness absences. The policy was commended by the National Audit Office (NAO) as meeting best practice.
	Disabled people are included in all restructuring plans in the same way as other employees. They are guaranteed interviews in selection exercises if they meet the minimum criteria for the post. All applicants are offered reasonable adjustments at all stages of the selection exercise. When a disabled person is successful at the selection exercise our Human Resources teams work closely with occupational health to ensure that any adjustments needed, to either the workplace environment or the post, are put in place quickly to enable the person to commence work without delay. Workplace adjustments are given priority to facilitate moves. Should volunteers be called for to move jobs, or compulsory moves required, the same adjustments are made for any disabled people included in these moves.

Disability Awareness

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which voluntary and private sector organisations have been contracted by his Department to deliver  (a) disability awareness and  (b) other training to Jobcentre Plus staff.

Jim Murphy: Voluntary and private sector organisations have been involved with Jobcentre Plus since its inception to design, develop, deliver and quality assure the training provided to their staff.
	Details of the providers available to Jobcentre Plus staff for support on the diversity agenda and for learning and development across the business have been placed in the Library.

Disability Living Allowance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in Lancashire include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the  (a) highest,  (b) middle and  (c) lowest rate.

Jim Murphy: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 24 July 2006:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in Lancashire include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the  (a) highest  (b) middle and  (c) lowest rate.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Recipients of disability living allowance with learning difficulties by rate of care award as at November 2005 in Lancashire parliamentary constituencies 
			   Care component 
			   Total with care component  Highest rate  Middle rate  Lowest rate 
			 Blackpool, North and Fleetwood 410 140 70 200 
			 Burnley 410 120 80 210 
			 Chorley 430 140 50 240 
			 Fylde 330 110 50 170 
			 Hyndburn 490 140 80 260 
			 Lancaster and Wyre 280 90 40 150 
			 Morecambe and Lunesdale 410 150 60 200 
			 Pendle 350 100 40 200 
			 Preston 450 150 90 220 
			 Ribble Valley 340 120 40 180 
			 Rossendale and Darwen 340 110 60 170 
			 South Ribble 360 100 70 190 
			 West Lancashire 370 150 50 170 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. The parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Figures are based on the care component condition only.  Source:  DWP, WPLS 100 per cent. data. 
		
	
	
		
			  Recipients of disability living allowance with learning difficulties by rate of care award as at November 2005 in Lancashire local authorities 
			   Care component 
			   Total with care component  Highest rate  Middle rate  Lowest rate 
			 Lancashire total 4,630 1,510 710 2,410 
			 Burnley 410 110 80 210 
			 Chorley 430 140 50 240 
			 Fylde 250 80 40 130 
			 Hyndburn 460 130 70 250 
			 Lancaster 540 190 80 270 
			 Pendle 350 100 40 200 
			 Preston 560 190 90 280 
			 Ribble Valley 200 80 20 110 
			 Rossendale 240 80 40 120 
			 South Ribble 410 110 80 230 
			 West Lancashire 410 160 60 180 
			 Wyre 370 120 60 190 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. The local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Figures are based on the care component condition only.  Source:  DWP, WPLS 100 per cent. data.

Disabled Staff

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled staff within his Department  (a) received equipment and adaptations through the Access to Work scheme up to 2003 and  (b) receive equipment and adaptations paid for by his Department.

Anne McGuire: Any Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employee requiring equipment and adaptation support up until March would have received the necessary support with costs attributed to the national Access to Work budget. However, Jobcentre Plus Access to Work did not collect the numbers of departmental disabled staff accessing adaptations and equipment support at that time.
	Currently any DWP employee requiring equipment and adaptations continues to receive the necessary support, and costs are attributed to the individual local budgets relevant to the individual employee. Prior to the introduction of our new resource management system, we are collecting clerical statistical data on numbers of reasonable adjustments undertaken each quarter, the information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Quarter ending  Number of reasonable adjustments undertaken 
			 August 2005 492 
			 December 2005 545 
			 March 2006 321

Draft Bills

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the draft Bills produced by his Department since October 2005; how many were examined or are planned to be examined by  (a) a Departmental Select Committee or a combination of Select Committees and  (b) a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: The Department of Work and Pensions has produced no draft Bills since October 2005.
	Announcements on future legislation and future draft legislation which will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny will be indicated in the Queen's Speech.

Family Poverty

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of families with three or more children were living in poverty in each county in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: Information below National or Government Office regional level is not available.

Financial Assistance Scheme/Pension Protection Fund

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) average,  (b) highest and  (c) lowest payment has been under the financial assistance scheme to former Allied Steel and Wire workers living (i) in and (ii) outside Wales; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The financial assistance scheme will provide a qualifying member with assistance that will top-up their scheme pension to a level broadly equivalent to 80 per cent. of their expected pension. Payments are subject to a de minimis level and a cap.
	
		
			  FAS payments to former Allied Steel and Wire workers living in Wales 
			   Gross (£) 
			 Average 205.11 
			 Highest 629.84 
			 Lowest 50.08 
		
	
	Under the Data Protection Act it is inappropriate to reveal such
	"data which relate to a living individual who can be identified from those data".
	As there is only one former ASW member receiving a payment living outside of Wales, I cannot comment on payments that may have been made to this individual.

Financial Assistance Scheme/Pension Protection Fund

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Financial Assistance scheme has paid out to members of schemes that wound up before 6 April 2005 with insufficient funds to cover all pension entitlements; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The Financial Assistance scheme has paid a total of £707,121.93 (gross) to members of pension schemes that had completed wind up or were in the winding up process before April 6 2005.

Financial Assistance Scheme/Pension Protection Fund

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he next plans to review the level of funding for  (a) the Financial Assistance Scheme and  (b) the Pension Protection Fund.

James Purnell: Following the recent review, on 25 May we announced that we will extend eligibility for the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to members of qualifying pension schemes who were within 15 years of their scheme's normal retirement age on 14 May 2004.
	Those within seven years of their scheme's normal retirement age on 14 May 2004 will benefit from the FAS topping up their pensions to around 80 per cent. of their expected core pension. Those between seven and 15 years from their scheme's normal retirement age who can more reasonably be expected to supplement their retirement income will be considered for a top-up to around 65 per cent. of their expected pension if they are between seven and 11 years from scheme pension age, and 50 per cent. between 12 and 15 years.
	We estimate that this will require funding of £2.3 billion. This is £1.9 billion more than the £400 million over 20 years that we allocated in May 2004.
	The Pension Protection Fund is an independent body governed by a board. It is funded in two ways; through the assets of schemes for which it assumes responsibility and by charging an annual pension protection levy on the pension schemes eligible for entry to the PPF. The PPF is responsible for setting the levy and has estimated a levy of £575 million for 2006-07 following wide consultation with industry.
	Provisions in the Pensions Act 2004 prevent the PPF from increasing its levy by more than 25 per cent. each year, up to an overall maximum ceiling. If the PPF wish to raise a levy beyond the ceiling then it must undertake consultation before asking Secretary of State to increase the levy ceiling.

Fuel Direct

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for Fuel Direct for  (a) gas and  (b) electricity by eligible consumers were approved by his Department but declined by an energy supplier in (i) each region of England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales in the last full year for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.
	Fuel Direct is part of the DWP Third Party Deduction (TPD) scheme. This is a system of last-resort protection available to the most vulnerable of our customers and is designed to shield a minority of people on income-related benefits from the consequences of getting into debt with essential household outgoings.
	The scheme works by deducting a prescribed amount at source from someone's weekly benefit, currently £2.90, and paying it direct to the creditor until the debt is cleared. In fuel and water cases an amount is also deducted to cover current consumption costs preventing further debt accruing. The scheme is regulated under Schedule 9 of the Social Security (Claims and Payment) Regulations 1987 No. 1968. These allow for either a benefit customer or a supplier, to make an application for TPD. However, only the DWP Decision Maker can decide whether or not the application is accepted.

Funeral Payments

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he next plans to increase funeral payments made by the Social Fund.

James Plaskitt: Funeral Payments from the social fund cover the cost of certain necessary charges in full; these include fees levied by burial authorities and crematoria. An additional sum of up to £700 is allowed for other funeral expenses, which give the person arranging the funeral the freedom to select items or services they consider appropriate.
	Although there are no plans to make changes to the Funeral Payment scheme at this time the level of help is kept under review.

Government Employment (St. Annes)

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what plans he has to reduce employment levels at the Government office site at Heyhouses Lane in St. Annes; and which business areas will be affected;
	(2)  what plans he has to relocate staff presently employed at the Government office site at Heyhouses Lane in St. Annes to other department locations within the Fylde area;
	(3)  when he expects to announce the outcome of his Department's estates review.

Anne McGuire: My Department intends to make an announcement to staff on the position of its non-London Headquarters estate by the end of July.
	Change to the size and shape of the Department's estate will not automatically lead to a reduction in staff numbers. However, as set out in the 2004 Spending Review, the Department is currently managing a major efficiency programme which involves reducing staff numbers by 30,000 by March 2008. These reductions are being made in all parts of the Department and across all of the country.

Harassment Complaints

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints of  (a) bullying and  (b) sexual harassment have been investigated in the Department in each of the last three years; and how many complaints have been upheld.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions records complaints relating to bullying and sexual harassment that are formally investigated by the Department. The following table contains information about the number of complaints that were formally investigated in the years 2003 to 2005. The figures in the table relate to the Department and all its businesses.
	
		
			   Bullying  Sexual harassment 
			   Number of investigations started  Number upheld  Number of investigations started  Number upheld 
			 2003-04 215 73 Less than 5 Less than 5 
			 2004-05 191 72 24 15 
			 2005-06 119 24 25 8

Hinkley Point B

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what response he has made to the safety assessment made by the Nuclear Safety Directorate of Hinkley Point B, Somerset of 3 April 2006; and what action he plans to take.

Anne McGuire: None. Accountability for the safety of the civil nuclear industry rests with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Health and Safety Executive's Nuclear Safety Directorate is the independent nuclear safety regulator and I am satisfied that it will respond appropriately with regard to its own safety assessments.

Housing Benefits

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many under 25-year-olds are in receipt of the shared room rate of the local housing allowance in each of the pathfinder areas.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Under 25-year-olds in receipt of the shared room rate of the local housing allowance in each of the pathfinder areas 
			  Pathfinder area  Number of recipients 
			 Blackpool 200 
			 Brighton 150 
			 Conwy 50 
			 Coventry 100 
			 Edinburgh 100 
			 Leeds 200 
			 Lewisham 200 
			 Teignbridge (1)— 
			 All Pathfinders 1,100 
			 (1) A number less than 25.   Note:  Numbers are rounded to the nearest 50 and as such components may not sum to total.   Source: Administrative data, February 2006.

Identity Cards

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the feasibility reports on identity cards following the Information Commissioner's decision reference FS50083103.

James Plaskitt: The Department has appealed against the Information Commissioner's decision to an Information Tribunal and we await the outcome.
	However, we have previously confirmed in replies to earlier parliamentary questions that a study on identity fraud by the Cabinet Office, published in 2002, estimated that up to £50 million per year of benefit fraud occurred as a result of identity fraud. This figure was derived from the Regional Benefit Review data collected from Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support claims. The introduction of an identity card would have a significant impact by removing the bulk of this loss.

Incapacity Benefit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1589W, on incapacity benefit, how many claimants sought help from his Department to find work during the period October 2003 to February 2006.

Anne McGuire: Information on the number incapacity benefit claimants seeking help from this Department to find work during the period October 2003 to February 2006 is not available. Data are not held on the type of inquiries made by clients.

Incapacity Benefit

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department has taken to help into work those in rural areas receiving incapacity benefits; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: All services that are available to all incapacity benefits claimants are available to clients in both rural and urban areas.
	We produce an internal annual Rural Proofing Report for the Countryside Agency; this includes examples of how the Department has addressed service delivery issues in rural areas. A copy of the Countryside Agency's Rural Proofing Report for 2004-05 is available in the Library.
	The Department has developed more flexible ways of delivering services through working in partnership with national and local organisations. For example, Jobcentre Plus advisers provide advice and information sessions through partners premises and in some areas mobile offices have been introduced to take the service on the road. Advances in technology are also being used to develop innovative ways of delivering services to customers, particularly for those in rural areas. We are also piloting our successful "Pathways to Work" programme in a range of different geographical locations, including areas such as Somerset in England and Argyll and Bute in Scotland which are significantly rural in character. The programme will be offered nationally by 2008.

Incapacity Benefit

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there have been in West Suffolk in each year since 2000.

Anne McGuire: The available information is in the following table:
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants, in the Suffolk West parliamentary constituency: each November 2000 to 2005 
			   Number of claimants 
			 2000 2,490 
			 2001 2,560 
			 2002 2,670 
			 2003 2,650 
			 2004 2,680 
			 2005 2,610 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 2. "Claimant" figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, including incapacity benefit credits only cases.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Jobcentre Plus

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial savings were achieved by Jobcentre Plus in 2005-06 against budget; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what financial savings were achieved by Jobcentre Plus in 2005-06 against budget. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The financial figures for 2005-06 are currently being audited. The unaudited position for 2005-06 shows an overall saving of £94 million against budget, as set out in the table below.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Budget  Outturn  Saving/(Overspend) 
			 Resource DEL
			 Staff costs 1,786 1,797 (11) 
			 Non-staff costs 2,007 984 23 
			 Net programme costs 1,088 1,076 12 
			 Total resource DEL 3,881 3,857 24 
			 Capital DEL 356 286 70 
			 Total Jobcentre Plus 4,237 4,143 94

Jobseeker's Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the waiting time is for jobseeker's allowance claims to be processed in  (a) the South-West and  (b) Somerset from (i) contacting the contact centre and being given an appointment for interview and (ii) interview to receipt of benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: In June 2006, the average clearance time for jobseeker's allowance claims in the south-west region was 17 days, and for Somerset claims was 17 days. The average time taken for the contact centres to return a customer's call was within the target 48 hours within the region. The average time between contacting the contact centre and the claim being taken in the Jobcentre was two days.
	We recognise that the delivery of jobseeker's allowance in the south-west and Somerset are not as we would want and that is why we have put additional measures in place to improve performance. These include the recruitment of additional staffing and increased telephony capacity. These measures along with closer working within Jobcentre Plus have resulted in an improvement in average clearance time for the south-west and Somerset. Jobseeker's allowance claims are now being actioned on the day of receipt in all processing centres. We anticipate the improving trend to continue.
	We are also operating a fast track system for those customers in urgent need. Details of this have been shared with local stakeholders.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what special considerations are given to women wearing the veil regarding their suitability for employment when they apply for jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: There are no special considerations given to a woman's suitability for employment when wearing a veil or any other specific item of clothing.

Means Testing

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to ask the Government Actuary's Department to make an assessment of the assumptions underlying the projections of  (a) public spending and  (b) the extent of means testing in Cm 6841; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: The assumptions and modelling techniques underpinning the analysis contained in Security in Retirement: towards a new pensions system (Cm 6841) have been developed and refined over a number of years through a process of regular contact and validation with a range of expert organisations. In the past year these have also been scrutinised by the independent Pensions Commission who found them to be broadly comparable with their own analysis.
	As part of the consultation process on Cm 6841 we will continue to engage with such organisations, including the Government Actuary's Department, to set out and explain in detail the analysis it contained, including our projections on future public expenditure and eligibility for pension credit. We also intend to publish, prior to the introduction of legislation, the research on which our proposals are based.

National Insurance Numbers

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with no recourse to public funds because of their immigration status have national insurance numbers.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

National Insurance Numbers

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new national insurance numbers were issued in the Peterborough city council area in the 12 months to 31 March  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested.

National Insurance Numbers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he was informed that national insurance numbers were being issued to  (a) illegal immigrants,  (b) immigrants with false papers and  (c) immigrants whose visas had expired; when the review into this matter was begun; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: National insurance numbers (NINOs) are only ever allocated when an individual has proved their identity. Individuals who present false documentation would not be allocated a NINO as we would not be satisfied as to their identity.
	In May 2006 DWP undertook a review of the NINO allocation rules to see whether DWP systems could be tightened to protect the security of the NINO.
	As a result of this review on Monday 5 June 2006 I announced changes to improve the NINO allocation process. These changes were introduced during July 2006 and will introduce a "right to work" pre-condition for employment-related NINO applications. This will prevent illegal workers being allocated a NINO.

National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2006,  Official Report, column 287W, on national insurance numbers, how many national insurance numbers in issue are allocated to  (a) deceased people,  (b) those in receipt of benefit outside the UK and  (c) others who are abroad.

James Plaskitt: In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) national insurance numbers (NINOs) are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid while in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual.
	The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Allocation of NINOs to deceased people, those in receipt of benefit outside the UK, and others who are abroad 
			   Million 
			 NINOs in issue to deceased people 16.5 
			 NINOs in issue to those in receipt of benefits outside the UK 1 
			 NINOs in issue to others abroad 5.5 
			  Note: These figures are from 2003 and relate to the total number of NINOs in issue at the time.

New Deal

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on travel passes for young people on the new deal in each year since 1997; how many passes were issued in each year; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: The New Deal Reduced Rail Fare Scheme was established in 1997 and, in England and Wales, is jointly operated by Jobcentre Plus and the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). The scheme was set up to provide new deal participants with reduced travel costs whilst on the New Deal programme.
	New deal participants are advised about the availability of the Reduced Rail Fare Scheme either in their first invitation letter or at the initial gateway interview. Rail fare reductions can be made available, at adviser discretion, to eligible new deal for young people participants travelling in England and Wales throughout their time on new deal, on all trains participating in the scheme. In addition, ATOC have agreed to provide further reductions for the first three months of rail travel once participants have left new deal for a sustained job. In this instance, all travel tickets must be bought whilst the participant is on the new deal programme.
	In Scotland, First ScotRail, SPT, GNER and Virgin Trains offer free and reduced rate travel to all new deal customers in certain geographical locations. This provision is available to new deal customers from their first day on the programme until their first wage is received.
	Local agreements are also in operation with some bus companies for the provision of reduced rate fares for new deal customers and, in certain circumstances, travel costs are paid through other sources such as the Adviser's Discretion Fund or the Travel to Interview Scheme.
	Data is not held on the number of travel passes issued, and expenditure has not been accounted for at the level of detail required to separately identify the costs of the New Deal Reduced Fare Scheme, or the costs of funding travel for new deal customers through other sources. However, no subsidy is paid to train or bus companies by Jobcentre Plus for the Reduced Fare Scheme and the only costs incurred by the Department are the administrative costs involved in managing any necessary paperwork.

New Deal

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent in each year since 1998 on the nationwide network of mentors to advise young people on getting back into work; how many advisers were employed in each year; and how many young people they assisted into work in each year.

Jim Murphy: Mentoring was introduced into new deal provision to help those people who may need additional support to that offered by their new deal personal adviser. New deal mentoring is available at Jobcentre Plus District Manager's discretion, depending on the needs of the local labour market, and can supplement and complement new deal personal adviser support given to new deal participants.
	Young people on new deal for young people can access mentoring support on a voluntary basis. It is provided by independent volunteers who use their skills, experience and expertise to help unemployed people break down the barriers preventing them from working. Young people with a health condition or disability who are participants on New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP) may also access mentoring support if their NDDP job broker identifies this as being appropriate in helping them into employment. Mentoring support is also available to eligible lone parents and partners.
	Information is not available on the number of people providing independent mentoring support, or on the number of young people they assist into work each year. Information is also not available on the cost of providing mentoring support as new deal financial data is not broken down in that way.

Occupational Pensions

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why he applied for a temporal limitation procedure in relation to the Amicus-Community trade union European Court of Justice occupational pensions case.

James Purnell: holding answer 16 June 2006
	The Government's position is that the United Kingdom's interpretation of article 8 of directive 80/987/EEC is consistent with the text of the directive, the legislative history, the case law of the European Court of Justice and, until recently represented, the view of the European Commission.
	In the event of the European Court's judgment being that article 8 requires a higher level of protection than provided in the UK, the Government asked the Court, in the interests of legal certainty, to consider imposing a temporal limitation on its judgment.
	It is usual practice to ask for a temporal limitation on the judgment in a case such as this, where the relevant criteria that the Court has set down for imposing a temporal limitation are met.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Anne McGuire: The Department received 4,124 ordinary, named day and Lords parliamentary questions in the 12 month period to 30 June.
	A total of 190 parliamentary questions to the Department of Work and Pensions were awaiting answer on 10 July 2006, of which 10 had been outstanding for more than two weeks but less than three weeks and 85 were outstanding for more than three weeks.
	The reasons for delay in each case are not collated centrally and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department endeavours to answer named day questions on the day named and to reply to ordinary written questions within a working week.

Pension Credit

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1171W, on pension credit, why production of the pension credit wallets ceased.

James Purnell: Production of the pension credit plastic wallets ceased because there was sufficient stock to meet likely demand.

Pension Credit

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all pensioners are entitled to have their pension credit paid into a Post Office card account.

James Plaskitt: Pensioners who satisfy the terms and conditions set by Post Office Ltd. for opening a Post Office card account can have their pension credit payments made this way.
	In order for pensioners to make an informed choice about the type of account they should have their pension credit paid into, they are being advised that the contract which supports the Post Office card account ends in March 2010 and that if they choose to be paid into a Post Office card account now, they will need to switch to a different type of account at some point in the next few years.

Pension Credit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individual beneficiaries of pension credit there were in each ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in November  (a) 2003,  (b) 2004 and  (c) 2005; and what the average weekly payment was in each case.

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Pension credit individual beneficiaries and average weekly payments for wards in Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central 
			   November 2003  November 2004  November 2005 
			  Ward name  Individual beneficiaries  Average weekly payments (£)  Individual beneficiaries  Average weekly payments (£)  Individual beneficiaries  Average weekly payments (£) 
			 Blakelaw 850 38.68 1,030 38.93 1,050 39.34 
			 Fenham 775 39.28 955 37.92 970 39.68 
			 Jesmond 275 42.18 305 44.32 300 43.37 
			 Kenton 635 43.28 770 41.10 770 42.37 
			 Moorside 630 47.01 735 44.38 740 47.66 
			 Sandyford 660 43.46 775 40.64 770 43.58 
			 South Gosforth 245 40.24 290 38.41 305 38.04 
			 Wingrove 400 49.20 470 48.29 520 48.44 
			 Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central constituency total 4,440 42.80 5,300 41.30 5,380 42.76 
			  Notes: 1. The number of recipients are rounded to a multiple of five and average payments to the nearest penny therefore ward totals do not always sum to area totals. 2. Wards are based on 2003 ward boundaries. 3. The number of individual beneficiaries includes both claimants and their partners.  Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data.

Pensioners

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate of benefits by pensioners was in each year since 1997.

James Purnell: Take-up of retirement pension cannot be calculated accurately. However, 98 per cent. of pensioner benefit units were in receipt of some state pension in 2004-05. Those not receiving may include pensioners deferring their state pension or misreporting their income when asked.
	Estimates of take-up of pension credit and minimum income guarantee administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), as well as local authority administered housing benefit and council tax benefit, can be found in the DWP publication series entitled: "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up". Latest estimates of pension credit relate to the year 2004-05; the most recent take-up results for all the other benefits relate to 2003-04. Copies of the latest publications, which describe patterns in take-up since 1997-98, together with past reports, are available in the Library.
	Information on the take-up of other benefits is not available.

Pensions Act

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) sets of regulations and  (b) codes of practice under the Pensions Act 2004 due to take effect from 6th April 2006 have not yet been published in final form.

James Purnell: The information is as follows:
	 (a) 16 sets of regulations implementing the Pensions Act 2004 and due to take effect from April 2006 have been made and laid on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
	These are listed as follows:
	 Regulations that came into force on 28 March 2006:
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Cross-Border) Regulations 2006 (amendment).
	 Regulations that came into force on 1 April 2006:
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Pension Protection Levy and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Fraud Compensation Levy) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Levies) (Amendment) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Valuation of the Pension Protection Fund) Regulations 2006.
	 Regulations that came into force on 6 April 2006:
	The Pension Protection Fund (Administration of Compensation) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Compensation) (Amendment) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Entry Rules) (Amendments) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Assumption of Responsibility, Discharge of Liabilities and Equal Treatment) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Reviewable Matters) and (Review and Reconsideration of Reviewable Matters) (Amendment) Regulations 2006
	The Pension Protection Fund (Provision of Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Member Nominated Trustees and Directors) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Modification of Subsisting Rights) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Trustees' Knowledge and Understanding) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational and Personal Pensions (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2006
	The Occupational Pension Schemes (Payments to Employer) Regulations 2006.
	The draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations, which were published for consultation in September 2005, have not yet been laid.
	In the light of comments received during consultation on the draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Exemption) Regulations 2006, we have decided not to proceed with those regulations.
	Regulations on the subject of contracting out have been taken forward in a HM Revenue and Customs Order.
	 (b) The following codes of practice, issued by the Pensions Regulator in respect of the Pensions Act 2004, are in force from 30 May 2006:
	Late Payments (Money Purchase)
	Late Payments (Personal Pension)
	Trustees Knowledge and Understanding
	Reasonable Periods in Disclosure
	Early Leavers
	Member Nominated Trustees/Member Nominated Directors was laid in its final form on 13 July 2006.
	The following codes of practice are currently being developed:
	Modification of Past Rights
	Internal Controls.

Pensions White Paper

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the total number of pensioners who would receive savings credit under the current system but will not under the proposals in the White Paper security in retirement, towards a new pensions system in  (a) 2010,  (b) 2020,  (c) 2030,  (d) 2040 and  (e) 2050.

James Purnell: Under our reforms, more people will be receiving state pensions based on their national insurance records, and there will be a more generous basic state pension due to the restoration of the earnings link. This provides a solid foundation for private saving. Incentives are further enhanced by reducing the growth of the savings credit.
	The following table shows the difference between the number of pensioner households projected to be receiving savings credit in each year requested under the current system projected forward and under the proposals contained in the White Paper "Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system". These figures do not take into account the effects of introducing personal accounts, which should lead to lower proportions of older people being eligible for pension credit.
	
		
			  Table 1: Projected numbers of pensioner households in selected years that may receive savings credit under the current system projected forward, and that may receive it under the white paper proposals 
			   Number of pensioner households that may receive savings credit under the current system projected forward (million)  Number of pensioner households that may receive savings credit under the white paper proposals (million)  Difference 
			 2010 2.40 2.05 0.35 
			 2020 3.00 1.85 1.15 
			 2030 4.00 1.60 2.40 
			 2040 5.05 1.60 3.40 
			 2050 6.15 1.70 4.45 
			  Notes: 1. Projections of numbers receiving savings credit in the future are subject to a range of uncertainties and a number of factors including policies on uprating different benefits, and assumptions on rates of take-up. 2. The assumptions applied here are consistent with those that underpin published long-run expenditure projections, and are applied to projections of the number of pensioner households estimated to be eligible for the savings credit. 3. The projections of recipients of the savings credit under the current system and the reform proposals are calculated by applying assumed rates of take-up, care should be taken when interpreting these projections. In particular data deficiencies make it difficult to be confident in the split between the number of people who may be in receipt of only the guarantee credit and those who may be in receipt of both the guarantee credit and the savings credit. Also the projections are sensitive to the assumed take-up rates. 4. Estimates of the proportion of pensioner households eligible to the savings credit are the mid-points of projections taken from two separate micro-simulation models. Modelling of the reform proposals does not assume any increase in private saving from the introduction of personal accounts, which would further reduce the numbers eligible for the savings credit. 5. The projections of the number and proportion of pensioner households eligible for the savings credit are sensitive to modelling assumptions and to projected changes in the distribution of pensioner incomes. 6. The projections of the number of pensioner households eligible for the savings credit are derived from the projected proportions eligible and projections of the number of pensioner households in Great Britain. 7. The reform projections assume: continued earnings uprating of the standard guarantee credit; the savings credit maximum is uprated by earnings from 2008 and then by prices from 2015; earnings uprating of the basic state pension from 2012; measures to improve coverage of the basic state pension described in the White Paper. 8. The projections under the current system assume that basic state pension is uprated in line with prices and the standard guarantee credit with earnings each year. It should be noted that there is a government commitment to uprate the standard guarantee credit with earnings until 2008. Treasury projections for the current system assume price uprating of the standard guarantee credit beyond 2008. 9. Estimates are calibrated to the mid-points of the 2004-05 National Statistics range estimates of non-eligibility to pension credit, which adjust 2004-05 Family Resources Survey data to take account of possible biases in reporting. Although the estimates here are not presented as ranges, they are subject to a margin of uncertainty. 10. The projections are rounded to the nearest 50,000. Totals are rounded separately so components may not sum to totals.

People Living in Poverty

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were estimated to be living in poverty in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; and what each figure represents per 1,000 population.

Jim Murphy: The following table shows the number of all individuals living in households which are situated in either rural or urban areas of England and with household incomes below the 60 per cent. threshold of the contemporary median. The threshold of 60 per cent. of median household income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income. The figures are on a before and after housing costs basis for the years 1996-97 to 2004-05. The urban/rural marker information is not available on a consistent basis on the data for Scotland and Wales.
	
		
			  Number of all individuals falling below 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income, by urban/rural: England, 1997-98 to 2004-05 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs  Total number of all individuals (million) 
			   Urban  Rural  Urban  Rural  Urban  Rural 
			  1997-98   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.5 2.2 8.7 2.7 (1)33.8 (1)14.0 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 190 150 260 200 (1)— (1)— 
			
			  1998-99   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.4 2.2 8.6 2.8 (2)34.5 (2)13.6 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 190 160 250 210 (2)— (2)— 
			
			  1999-2000   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.4 2.1 8.6 2.7 (3)34.5 (3)13.7 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 180 150 250 200 (3)— (3)— 
			
			  2000-01   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.1 2.0 8.3 2.6 (4)34.4 (4)14.0 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 180 140 240 190 (4)— (4)— 
			
			  2001-02   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.1 2.0 8.1 2.5 (5)34.9 (5)13.7 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 170 150 230 180 (5)— (5)— 
			
			  2002-03   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.2 2.0 8.1 2.4 (6)34.9 (6)13.9 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 180 140 230 180 (6)— (6)— 
			
			  2003-04   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 6.0 2.1 7.7 2.7 (7)33.8 (7)15.2 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 180 140 230 180 (7)— (7)— 
			
			  2004-05   
			 Number (million). Below 60 per cent. median 5.9 1.9 7.5 2.4 (8)34.2 (8)15.0 
			 Number per 1,000. Below 60 per cent. median 170 130 220 160 (8)— (8)— 
			 (1 )Total (2) Total (3) Total (4 )Total (5) Total (6) Total (7) Total (8) Total  Source: Households Below Average Income (HBAI). The main source for HBAI is the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

People Living in Poverty

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of  (a) adults and  (b) children were living in poverty in (i) England, (ii) Peterborough constituency and (iii) the Peterborough city council in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is detailed in "Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994-95 to 2004-05", which is available in the Library. The main source for HBAI is the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
	The standard measurement of low income is a household with income below 60 per cent. of the GB median.
	The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates below a regional level. Therefore estimates for numbers of adults or children living in low income in the Peterborough constituency or the Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997 are not available.
	
		
			  Percentage of adults living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, years 1995-96 to 2004-05; England 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 16 22 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 16 22 
			 1997-98 to 1999-00 16 21 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 16 21 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 16 20 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 16 20 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 16 19 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 15 19 
			  Note:  Figures are provided using a three-year moving averages, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year on year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time.  Source: FRS 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, years 1995-96 to 2004-05; England 
			   Before housing costs  After housing costs 
			 1995-96 to 1997-98 23 32 
			 1996-97 to 1998-99 24 33 
			 1997-98 to 1999-00 24 32 
			 1998-99 to 2000-01 22 32 
			 1999-2000 to 2001-02 21 31 
			 2000-01 to 2002-03 20 29 
			 2001-02 to 2003-04 20 29 
			 2002-03 to 2004-05 20 28 
			  Note:  Figures are provided using a three-year moving averages, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year on year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time.  Source: FRS

Safety at Work

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of workers who suffered from occupational exposure to  (a) methyl bromide and  (b) sulphuric acid in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Available information via reports to HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) in 2004-05 revealed 19 injuries to workers where reports mentioned the term "sulphuric acid" but no injuries mentioning "methyl bromide". Of these injuries, 13 were recorded as burns and four as asphyxiations or poisonings. This information from RIDDOR is limited by significant under-reporting of relevant cases to HSE and local authorities.
	Since 2000, there have been a small number of reports of cases of ill health resulting from occupational exposure to sulphuric acid or methyl bromide by consultant occupational and NHS physicians reporting to The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network, a voluntary reporting scheme for work-related illness sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive. These are described in the following table. THOR will record only those cases where the individual has access to an occupational physician or which are serious enough to be referred for hospital assessment. Many clinicians reporting to the network do so only one month in twelve, meaning that only a proportion of all cases will be recorded.
	
		
			  THOR 2000 onwards: cases of injury and illness attributed to sulphuric acid and methyl bromide 
			  Agent  Illness or injury  Number of reported cases 
			 Sulphuric acid Asthma 3 
			  Cough 1 
			  Inhalation accident 1 
			  Burn 1 
			 Methyl bromide "Poisoning" 3

Seasonal Unemployment

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department has taken to tackle short-term seasonal unemployment in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1609W.

Stakeholder Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government plan to spend on promoting stakeholder pensions in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: We will continue to provide public information in order to help individuals make informed choices about saving for a pension, including information about stakeholder pensions.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

Anne McGuire: On three occasions in the Committee's fourth, twenty-second and twenty-fifth reports.

Sure Start Maternity Grant

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in  (a) England,  (b) the Tees Valley and  (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland have received the Sure Start maternity grant since 2001.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for England 
			   Number of awards 
			 2001-02 172,130 
			 2002-03 199,010 
			 2003-04 204,310 
			 2004-05 203,480 
			 2005-06 205,750 
			 2006-07 to 30 June 49,890 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for Tees Social Fund District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2001-02 2,930 
			 2002-03 to 31 October 1,980 
		
	
	
		
			  Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus District 
			   Number of awards 
			 2002-03 from 1 November 1,610 
			 2003-04 4,140 
			 2004-05 3,840 
			 2005-06 4,060 
			 2006-07 to 30 June 990 
			  Notes: 1. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency but only by Jobcentre Plus District, and, before Jobcentre Plus Districts were used for the administration of the social fund, by social fund district. 2. Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency used to be part of Tees social fund district and is now part of Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus District. The latter was formed in November 2002 by merging part of Durham social fund district with Tees social fund district. Thus data in the third table is not comparable with that in the second table. 3. Figures are for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner. 4. Some women will have received more than one sure start maternity grant since 2001-02. 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Unclaimed Benefits

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates are not claiming benefits to which they are entitled, broken down by  (a) age,  (b) sex and  (c) region; what his estimate is of the total sum involved; and what steps he is taking to reduce that number.

James Plaskitt: Information is not available broken down below national level. For the available information I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers) on 3 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1034W.
	We are keen that everybody claims the benefits to which they are entitled. The Department for Work and Pensions works closely with local authorities and other organisations to ensure that people understand their entitlement and claim the appropriate benefits.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Background Reading

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what publications have been provided by civil servants as background reading for his ministerial duties since taking office; and if he will make a statement.

John Prescott: I am provided with the publications necessary to enable me to fulfil my ministerial duties.

Casinos

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Anschutz Entertainment Group is a casino developer.

John Prescott: On the company's website, AEG are described as "sports and entertainment presenters."

Gambling (Government Policy)

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role he has in relation to Government policy on  (a) gambling and  (b) planning.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 302.

Ministerial Meetings

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had in the last five years with  (a) Margaret Hotchkiss,  (b) John Allison,  (c) Tobin Prior and  (d) Howard Kerzner.

John Prescott: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in June 2002. Information prior to this time is not available. Since that time, I have not had any meetings with the persons named.

Ministerial Office and Staff

Peter Atkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 788-89W, on his ministerial office and staff, how many members of staff have  (a) resigned,  (b) been made redundant and  (c) been dismissed from his private office since May.

John Prescott: holding answer 13 July 2006
	None.

Ministerial Office and Staff

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

John Prescott: My office in 26 Whitehall has not been decorated since I moved into it in September 2002.

Ministerial Responsibilities

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what responsibilities he has in relation to the implementation of Government policy on  (a) the international slave trade and  (b) the commemoration of the abolition of slavery.

John Prescott: I do not have any responsibility for the implementation of policy in relation to the international slave trade. However, the hon. Member may be aware that I chair the 2007 Bicentenary Advisory Group, which brings together stakeholders from across the cultural, faith and community sectors to discuss how best we can maximise their organisations' contributions to the bicentenary.

Ministerial Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

John Prescott: The number of visits I have made to each of the English regions in the past 12 months is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number of visits 
			 North West 3 
			 North East 1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 6 
			 East Midlands 2 
			 East of England 1 
			 West Midlands 0 
			 South East 1 
			 South West 4 
			 London 4

Nuclear Waste

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the disposal of nuclear waste; and if he will make a statement.

John Prescott: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to such discussions, including Cabinet and its committees, is generally not disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Official Visit

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what purpose he visited the Star City Casino in Sydney on 28 November 2004.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands) on 19 July 2006,  Official Report, column 301W.

Planning

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role he has in relation to Government policy on planning.

John Prescott: Responsibility for planning policy rests with the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	I chair the Cabinet Committee on Housing and Planning. The chair of a Cabinet Committee must act in a neutral way if the system is to work effectively. Departments' views are represented by their own Ministers who attend the meetings.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Charities Commissioners

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Northern Ireland Charities Commissioners office to be fully functional.

David Hanson: On 17 July I launched a public consultation about proposed new Northern Ireland charities legislation which will, inter alia, set up a Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. The 12 week consultation process will close on 13 October 2006. Following this the responses will be considered and where feasible account will be taken of these but we must ensure that we put in place adequate regulation and governance arrangements.
	It is then the intention to present the draft Order for consideration by Parliament in November 2006. It is intended subject to the will of Parliament:
	to have legislation approved early in 2007;
	to enable the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland to be established by mid-2007;and
	to enable the Northern Ireland Register of Charities to reach initial operational capability by end-2007.

Concessionary Fares

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department plans to extend the Department for Regional Development's concessionary fares scheme for pupils returning to school in the sixth form.

David Cairns: The Northern Ireland concessionary fares scheme currently provides half fare travel on public transport for all children up to the 30 June after they become 16, that is, until the end of their period of compulsory attendance at school. On 26 June 2006, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland launched a review of the scheme. This review will consider the feasibility and desirability of options for extending the provision of concessionary travel to additional categories, such as pupils returning to school in the sixth form.

Departmental IT Systems

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on IT systems in each year since 1997; what the purpose of each system is; what the outturn against planned expenditure of each system was; and what the outturn time for implementation against planned time was.

Paul Goggins: The following table gives information on IT projects costing in excess of £1 million within the Northern Ireland Office Core, its agencies, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and the Northern Ireland legal offices (Director of Public Prosecutions and Crown Solicitors Office).
	
		
			   Project  Purpose  Amount spent (£ million ex. VAT)  Cost of over run (£ million ex. VAT)  Time of over run 
			 1997 — — — — — 
			   
			 1998 — — — — — 
			   
			 1999 OASIS Y2K Refresh To upgrade NIO departmental infrastructure and make it Y2K compliant 2.2 None None 
			   .
			 1999 COMPASS (to 2002) To provide an e-human resources system for the Northern Ireland Prison Service 5 0.06 3 months 
			   
			 2000 TARIFF (to 2004) To provide office automation and an electronic claim processing system for criminal injuries compensation in Northern Ireland 2 0.2 1 year 
			   
			 2001 PRISM (to spring 2006) To provide a prisoner record system for the Northern Ireland Prison Service 7 Project ongoing Project ongoing 
			   
			 2002 (CAUSEWAY (PPP project to 2013) A joint enterprise by criminal justice organisations in Northern Ireland to share information electronically 45 Project ongoing Project ongoing 
			   
			 2003 DPP INFRASTRUCTURE To implement a modern ICT infrastructure for the DPP NI. 1.2 None None 
			   
			 2003 FLAX (to 2005) Replace NIO IT infrastructure, provide Internet and intranet and meet electronic document and records management targets 8.5 None None 
			   
			 2004 — — — — — 
			   
			 1998 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry. 1.1 None None 
			   
			 1999 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 1.6 None None 
			   
			 2000 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 7.2 None None 
			   
			 2001 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 5.8 None None 
			   
			 2002 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 7.1 None None 
			   
			 2003 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 5 None None 
			   
			 2004 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 2.6 None None 
			   
			 2005 Bloody Sunday Inquiry-Londonderry and London Implementation of IT systems to support the work of the Inquiry 3.7 None None

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) EU foreign nationals and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in (i) each department in Northern Ireland and (ii) the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether this includes liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

David Hanson: Recruitment Service of the Department of Finance and Personnel has responsibility for providing a vetting service for all employees appointed to the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS).
	The vetting process for all prospective appointees to the NICS includes a number of levels which will be determined by the nature of the duties the appointee is required to carry out. Approximately 95 per cent. of all appointees are required to satisfy a Basic Check level which consists of an identification check as well as a Criminal Record Check (CRC). The CRC, which is undertaken by the Criminal Records Division of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), identifies all instances where an individual has either been convicted of an offence or where a criminal case is pending.
	A small number of posts within the NICS may require enhanced vetting. In addition to those checks carried out under Basic Check, enhanced vetting, which is undertaken by the NI Security and Vetting Unit of the NIO, includes an assessment of an applicant's credit and pecuniary history and an assessment of the individual as a security risk.
	Recruitment Service does not have any direct links, or liaise in any way, with foreign law enforcement agencies, when vetting prospective recruits.
	The figures for those employed by Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments within the years and the categories specified are contained within the following table.
	
		
			  Financial Year  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Classification  EU  Non-EU  EU  Non-EU  EU  Non-EU  EU  Non-EU  EU  Non-EU 
			  Department   
			 DARD 6 2 11 1 15 4 27 8 13 1 
			 DCAL 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 
			 DE 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 
			 DEL 5 2 3 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 
			 DETI 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 DFP 12 4 11 3 10 4 11 4 4 3 
			 DHSSPS 2 0 2 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 
			 DOE 0 0 3 2 7 2 21 3 11 2 
			 DRD 5 1 13 1 11 2 8 0 1 1 
			 DSD 18 8 15 3 15 2 18 3 11 3 
			 OFMDFM 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 NIO 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 
			 Total 53 18 60 11 69 16 89 20 46 11

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the simulated average effective tax rate that would notionally have been levied on domestic rates bills in respect of the  (a) district and  (b) regional rate in (i) Northern Ireland as a whole and (ii) each district in Northern Ireland in 2006-07.

David Hanson: The simulated average district rate for 2006-07 is 0.00258 or £2.58 per £1,000 of capital value, while the regional rate is simulated to be 0.00340 or £3.40 per £,000 of capital value. This gives an overall average rate of 0.00598 or £5.98 per £1,000 of capital value. This estimate simulates what domestic rates would have been in 2006-07 had capital values been in place. Individual district rates are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Simulation of domestic capital value rates for 2006-07 
			   District rate (pence)  Regional rate (pence)  Total rate (pence)  Total rate per £1,000 of CV 
			 Antrim 0.00282 0.00340 0.00622 6.22 
			 Ards 0.00241 0.00340 0.00581 5.81 
			 Armagh 0.00305 0.00340 0.00645 6.45 
			 Ballymena 0.00258 0.00340 0.00599 5.99 
			 Ballymoney 0.00257 0.00340 0.00598 5.98 
			 Banbridge 0.00293 0.00340 0.00634 6.34 
			 Belfast 0.00234 0.00340 0.00575 5.75 
			 Carrickfergus 0.00280 0.00340 0.00620 6.20 
			 Castlereagh 0.00178 0.00340 0.00518 5.18 
			 Coleraine 0.00239 0.00340 0.00579 5.79 
			 Cookstown 0.00237 0.00340 0.00578 5.78 
			 Craigavon 0.00322 0.00340 0.00662 6.62 
			 Derry 0.00320 0.00340 0.00660 6.60 
			 Down 0.00275 0.00340 0.00615 6.15 
			 Dungannon 0.00221 0.00340 0.00561 5.61 
			 Fermanagh 0.00200 0.00340 0.00540 5.40 
			 Larne 0.00307 0.00340 0.00648 6.48 
			 Limavady 0.00300 0.00340 0.00640 6.40 
			 Lisburn 0.00223 0.00340 0.00563 5.63 
			 Magherafelt 0.00214 0.00340 0.00555 5.55 
			 Moyle 0.00303 0.00340 0.00643 6.43 
			 Newry and Mourne 0.00267 0.00340 0.00607 6.07 
			 Newtownabbey 0.00274 0.00340 0.00615 6.15 
			 North Down 0.00213 0.00340 0.00554 5.54 
			 Omagh 0.00308 0.00340 0.00648 6.48 
			 Strabane 0.00287 0.00340 0.00627 6.27 
			 Northern Ireland 0.00258 0.00340 0.00598 5.98 
			  Notes:  1. Based on VLA domestic revaluation data at 26 May 2006.  2. Missing or zero capital values are omitted.  3. Rates based on 2006-07 rate revenues.  4. Simulates what domestic rates would have been in 2006-07 had capital values been in place.  5. For example, the average bill for a domestic property valued at £112,000 would be: 112,000 x 0.00598 = £669.80.

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the latest estimate is of the average domestic rates bill per dwelling that will be paid in 2007-08 in  (a) Northern Ireland as a whole and  (b) each district in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The average rate bill for domestic properties in Northern Ireland in 2007-08 is estimated at £705. This figure takes into account the planned 6 per cent. increase in the regional rate between 2006-07 and 2007-08, but also assumes that the district rate set by councils will also increase by an average of 6 per cent. during this time.
	The following table the information for each district council in Northern Ireland. Again, these assume that both regional and district rates will increase by 6 per cent. in 2007-08.
	
		
			  Average domestic rate bills (projected) 2007-08 
			   £ 
			 Antrim 736 
			 Ards 789 
			 Armagh 724 
			 Ballymena 678 
			 Ballymoney 655 
			 Banbridge 721 
			 Belfast 699 
			 Carrickfergus 661 
			 Castlereagh 719 
			 Coleraine 747 
			 Cookstown 680 
			 Craigavon 635 
			 Down 771 
			 Fermanagh 589 
			 Larne 625 
			 Limavady 668 
			 Lisburn 737 
			 Derry 668 
			 Magherafelt 641 
			 Moyle 776 
			 Newry and Mourne 755 
			 Newtownabby 687 
			 North Down 901 
			 Omagh 661 
			 Strabane 564 
			 Northern Ireland 705 
		
	
	It should also be noted that none of the estimates given take account of those households which will be in receipt of any of the domestic rate reliefs which will be available, such as housing benefit, the new rate relief scheme or transitional relief.

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average domestic rates bill per dwelling was in  (a) Northern Ireland as a whole and  (b) each district in Northern Ireland in 2006-07.

David Hanson: The average domestic rate liability for properties in Northern Ireland in 2006-07, combining both regional and district rates, is estimated at £668.
	The following table provides the information for each district council in Northern Ireland.
	These estimates show only the average rate liability for properties, as information is not available on the level of housing benefit that each household may receive.
	
		
			   Average domestic rate liability 2006-07 (£) 
			 Antrim 667 
			 Ards 672 
			 Armagh 689 
			 Ballymena 663 
			 Ballymoney 651 
			 Banbridge 721 
			 Belfast 580 
			 Carrickfergus 671 
			 Castlereagh 604 
			 Coleraine 700 
			 Cookstown 601 
			 Craigavon 665 
			 Down 690 
			 Dungannon 563 
			 Fermanagh 533 
			 Larne 623 
			 Limavady 662 
			 Lisburn 667 
			 Derry 661 
			 Magherafelt 606 
			 Movie 705 
			 Newry and Mourne 658 
			 Newtownabbey 670 
			 North Down 761 
			 Omagh 650 
			 Strabane 571 
			 Northern Ireland 668

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the latest estimate is of the net revenue to be raised from domestic rates in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

David Hanson: Domestic rates consist of two elements, the Regional Rate, set by the Secretary of State on a uniform basis across Northern Ireland, and the district rate, set separately by each district council relevant to the location of the property The current estimates of total revenue to be raised from domestic rates in 2006-07 and 2007-08 are detailed in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Total estimated domestic rate revenue 
			  £ million 
			  ( 1) Regional rate ( 2) District rate 
			 2006-07 248.7 197.4 
			 2007-08 269.9 Not yet available 
			 (1) Based on domestic Regional Rate increases of 19 per cent. in 2006-07 and 6 per cent. in 2007-08 as set out in Northern Ireland Priorities and Budget 2006-08. (2) District councils set their rate in February of the preceding year so figure for 2007-08 not yet available. 
		
	
	These estimates will be subject to revision as information is updated.

Domestic Rates

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the expected change in the regional domestic rate levy is for 2007-08; and what the change was in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2005-06.

David Hanson: The expected change in the regional domestic rate levy for 2007-08 is £21.2 million. The estimated changes in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2005-06 are £42.1 million and £26.3 million respectively.

Driving Tests

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time a person waited to sit a driving test at each test centre in Northern Ireland was in the last period for which figures are available.

David Cairns: Average waiting times for practical driving tests during week ending 15 July 2006 for each test centre are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Test centre  Average waiting time (weeks) 
			 Armagh 5 
			 Ballymena 5 
			 Belfast 2 
			 Coleraine 6 
			 Cookstown 6 
			 Craigavon 4 
			 Downpatrick 8 
			 Enniskillen 7 
			 Lame 10 
			 Lisburn 5 
			 Londonderry 2 
			 Newry 8 
			 Newtownards 8 
			 Omagh 10 
			 Overall average 6

Driving Tests

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have sat and  (a) failed their first driving test and  (b) passed first time at each centre in Northern Ireland in the last three years.

David Cairns: Information on the number of individual candidates involved is not available. However, details of the number of tests conducted in the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006 are as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
			  Centre  Tests conducted  Failed first test  Passed first test 
			 Armagh 4,329 2,870 1,459 
			 Ballymena 11,441 9,060 2,381 
			 Belfast (Balmoral Road) 12,243 9,680 2,563 
			 Belfast (Dill Road) 8,203 6,510 1,693 
			 Coleraine 9,686 7,042 2,644 
			 Cookstown 10,665 7,446 3,219 
			 Craigavon 12,147 8,328 3,819 
			 Downpatrick 6,077 3,722 2,355 
			 Enniskillen 4,728 2,897 1,831 
			 Lame 11,499 9,147 2,352 
			 Lisburn 7,315 5,855 1,460 
			 Londonderry (New buildings) 2,057 1,343 714 
			 Londonderry (Waterside House) 9,864 7,733 2,131 
			 Newry 8,278 5,410 2,868 
			 Newtownards 8,829 6,098 2,731 
			 Omagh 7,881 5,319 2,562

Drug-related Offences

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been charged with the intention to supply  (a) cannabis,  (b) cocaine,  (c) crack cocaine and  (d) other drugs in the Province in the last three years, broken down by Westminster constituency.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided as follows. The Police Service of Northern Ireland collates information according to district command unit and cannot supply information broken down by Westminster constituency.
	
		
			   Persons charged for intent to supply: 
			   (a) Cannabis  (b) Cocaine  (c) Crack cocaine 
			  DCU  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Antrim 2 1 11 (1)3 3 0 2 1 7 
			 Ards 11 4 8 0 0 1 8 5 7 
			 East Belfast 10 5 5 1 0 5 6 3 3 
			 North Belfast 8 14 8 1 1 5 3 3 5 
			 South Belfast 7 7 8 1 2 4 3 9 6 
			 West Belfast 3 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 4 
			 Carrickfergus 8 3 1 3 2 0 2 3 2 
			 Castlereagh 13 8 1 0 1 1 5 0 3 
			 Larne 9 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 3 
			 Lisburn 16 26 7 3 2 1 9 13 8 
			 Newtownabbey 9 4 8 3 0 0 6 1 1 
			 North Down 14 15 8 4 1 0 7 5 5 
			 Urban 110 92 71 19 13 17 55 44 54 
			   
			 Armagh 3 4 8 1 0 1 5 1 6 
			 Banbridge 9 4 1 0 0 0 5 2 1 
			 Ballymena 11 7 11 0 0 2 4 11 8 
			 Ballymoney 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 13 10 12 0 1 3 13 15 17 
			 Cookstown 4 1 0 0 4 0 7 11 2 
			 Craigavon 6 7 2 0 4 2 6 4 2 
			 Dungannon 4 2 1 2 0 3 1 1 3 
			 Down 5 1 9 0 0 1 1 5 3 
			 Fermanagh 14 5 6 0 0 2 4 6 3 
			 Foyle 5 5 6 1 2 5 7 10 10 
			 Limavady 4 5 12 0 0 0 5 6 4 
			 Magherafelt 2 7 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 6 1 4 0 1 3 1 1 3 
			 Omagh 4 7 5 0 0 0 1 4 3 
			 Strabane 4 1 3 0 0 2 2 3 1 
			 Rural 95 70 82 5 12 25 64 82 67 
			   
			 Northern Ireland(2) 205 162 153 24 25 42 119 126 121 
			 (1) (c) One person was charged with intent to supply crack cocaine in Antrim DCU in 2003-04.  (2) As one person can be charged for supply of several different drug types, the total number of persons charged with intent to supply cannot be derived by adding the totals for cannabis, cocaine and others together.   Note:  Please note other includes Amphetamine, Steroids, Benzodiazepines, Heroin, LSD, MDMA (Ecstasy), Methadone, Morphine, Psilocin (Magic Mushrooms) and Stanozolol. Should a person be charged with intent to supply more than one of these drug types, they are only included once.

Environmental Management

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether his Department  (a) is committed to the achievement of environmental management to ISO 14001 standard and  (b) has been externally certified as in compliance with that standard; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Strategy, published on 9 May 2006 identifies the implementation of environmental management systems as a mechanism that will reinforce progress made, and being made, in the improvement of the sustainable development profile of the Northern Ireland Government Estate.
	Sustainable Development Action Plans are currently being developed by Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office in line with a commitment made in the Sustainable Development Strategy. Each department will set out in its action plan with regard to the implementation of environmental management systems.
	It will be for each department to decide which of the available standards such as ISO 14001, EMAS, the European eco audit scheme, etc. is most appropriate for the management of its own estate. A number of Departments have environmental management systems in place, some of these accredited to ISO 14001 and some to other standards.

Greyhounds

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he plans to take to promote the welfare of greyhounds in the Province.

David Cairns: Under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, all animals are protected from unnecessary cruelty or suffering, although there are no specific provisions on the welfare of racing greyhounds.
	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (NI) officials are currently finalising a review of animal welfare legislation aimed at identifying measures needed to strengthen powers to deal with animal welfare abuses and will consult stakeholders on proposals for new animal welfare legislation shortly. It is anticipated that the consultation document will include proposals to better regulate the animal welfare aspects of greyhound racing, and stakeholders will be asked to consider what, if any, specific issues might be included in any new legislation to protect the welfare of racing greyhounds.

Language Support

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the range and nature is of language support services available to  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in Northern Ireland; and how much was available for language support services in each Education and Library Board area in each of the last four academic years.

Maria Eagle: The Education and Library Boards (ELBs) are responsible for ensuring that appropriate support arrangements are in place for children who have significant difficulty with English as an additional language (EAL). The range and nature of language support services available to both primary and secondary schools varies within each ELB area. Some ELBs provide peripatetic teaching staff, some offer schools the opportunity to "buy in" peripatetic services, whilst others provide support through advisers. In addition, some Boards make available interpreting services in certain languages.
	The Department of Education provides earmarked funding, which must be used solely for English as an Additional Language (EAL) provision, to the Education and Library Boards. This funding was originally distributed equally across the five Boards but since 2004-05 funding has been distributed on a per capita basis for each EAL pupil recorded in the school census. The funding by ELB by financial year is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Allocation 
			  £ 
			  Board  2003-04  2004-05  (Allocated gradually)  2005-06  2006-07 
			 BELB 80,000 110,000 159,000 160,000 
			 NEELB 80,000 72,000 92,000 96,000 
			 SEELB 80,000 85,000 112,000 96,000 
			 SELB 80,000 85,000 153,000 177,000 
			 WELB 80,000 58,000 54,000 52,000 
			 Total 400,000 410,000 570,000 581,000 
		
	
	Since 2005-06, funding, additional to that provided to the ELBs, is given direct to schools through the Common Funding Formula. This funding, which is not earmarked, includes an EAL factor that targets resources directly to schools with EAL pupils. The cash value for each EAL pupil identified in the school census was £864 in 2005-06 and £912 in 2006-07. The funding by ELB by financial year is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Allocations to schools 
			  £ 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 BELB(1) 73,000 129,000 432,000 614,000 
			 NEELB — — 287,000 441,000 
			 SEELB — — 344,000 379,000 
			 SELB — — 462,000 885,000 
			 WELB — — 162,000 218,000 
			 Total 73,000 129,000 1,687,000 2,537,000 
			 (1 )BELB were the only funding authority to distribute resources to schools from an EAL factor within its Local Management Schools formula, prior to the introduction of Common Funding from 2005-06. 
		
	
	In addition, £100,000 has been allocated in 2006-07 and £75,000 in 2007-08 within the Children and Young People's Package for regional interpreting and translation of documents services for teachers, EAL pupils and their parents.
	The Department is working with the ELBs to develop a comprehensive policy and a proposal for a regional EAL service.

Local Government Finance

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the remuneration is for the chief executives of local councils in Northern Ireland; and what remuneration is proposed for the new chief executive posts.

David Cairns: The remuneration for chief executives of district councils is negotiated by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Chief Executives Northern Ireland. Currently their salary scales range from £64,185 to £109,503, however, actual salary costs are not held centrally. The issue of remuneration for the new local government chief executive posts will be considered as part of the process of implementing the Review of Public Administration.

Newly Qualified Teachers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recently qualified teachers in Northern Ireland have failed to gain a post one year after qualifying; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Destination of Leavers from higher education data are collected by HESA six months after graduation but not thereafter, therefore no data are available one year after graduation. Of the 704 teachers who qualified from Northern Ireland higher education institutions in 2004-05 and had Destination of Leavers data returned to HESA, 104 had not gained a teaching professional post six months after graduation.

Out-of-classroom Education

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what barriers he has identified to effective out-of-classroom education in secondary schools in Northern Ireland; and what steps he is taking to overcome them.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education has not carried out any formal assessment of the barriers to effective out-of-classroom education in secondary schools in Northern Ireland. Delivery of the curriculum, including out-of-classroom learning, is a matter for schools to determine, with the support of the Education and Library Boards.
	As part of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Strategy, Government have already committed to promoting the use of the Education and Library Boards' "Education for Sustainable Development Good Practice Guide" in all schools. This guide includes information on education outside the classroom.

Out-of-classroom Education

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will issue guidance on out-of classroom education as part of the Northern Ireland secondary school curriculum;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to ensure that every secondary school child in Northern Ireland has the opportunity to experience out-of-classroom learning in the natural environment.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education specifies the minimum curricular content that schools are required to provide but does not specify how the curriculum should be delivered. It is therefore a matter for schools, with the support of the Education and Library Boards, to determine what out-of-classroom learning opportunities they provide. As part of the Northern Ireland Sustainable Development Strategy, Government have already committed to promoting the use of the Education and Library Boards' "Education for Sustainable Development Good Practice Guide" in all schools. This guide includes information on education outside the classroom.

Out-of-classroom Education

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with the Education and Library Board chief executives to promote outdoor learning in secondary schools in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: There have been no meetings between the Department and the chief executives of the education and library boards, specifically, to discuss the promotion of outdoor learning.

Paediatric Cardiology

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children are awaiting an initial paediatric cardiology assessment in the Province.

Paul Goggins: pursuant to the reply, 6 June 2006, Official Report c. 559W
	I am now in a position to provide the information requested.
	The number of children awaiting an initial paediatric cardiology assessment in each applicable Health and Social Service Trust at 26 May 2006 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Health and Social Service Trust  Number of Children waiting for an initial outpatient paediatric cardiology appointment at  26 May 2006 
			 Altnagelvin Group(1) 39 
			 Causeway 13 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group(1) 84 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals 681 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals(2) 96 
			 United Hospitals Group 58 
			 NI Total 971 
			 (1) Altnagelvin Group and Craigavon Group trusts provided numbers waiting at 30 April 2006.  (2) Subsequent to when this answer was initially prepared, Ulster Community and Hospitals Trust provided numbers waiting at 31 May 2006.   Source:  Health and Social Services Trusts

Parliamentary Questions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which bodies each Department in Northern Ireland, including the Northern Ireland Office, consults  (a) formally and  (b) informally on parliamentary (i) questions and (ii) draft answers on Northern Ireland matters tabled by hon. Members from (A) Northern Ireland and (B) constituencies in Great Britain.

Peter Hain: When drafting responses to parliamentary questions, my officials contact whichever bodies are necessary to provide the correct information. These bodies range from government agencies, non-departmental public bodies and other Whitehall departments to outside organisations in receipt of public funds. These contacts can be on a formal or informal basis. Where appropriate, I will ask those bodies with operational autonomy to write to hon. Members in response to parliamentary questions. Apart from those instances, all answers to hon. Member's questions are cleared at ministerial level.

Pensioners

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pensioners' homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard in the last period for which figures are available.

David Hanson: The information is not available. The Decent Homes Standard applies only to social housing. The Interim House Condition Survey identified 32,000 homes as failing to meet the Standard but did not disaggregate the figures into particular age categories.

Pensioners

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in Northern Ireland who have home internet access.

David Hanson: While it is currently not possible to specify the exact number of pensioners in Northern Ireland who have home internet access, the most recent NISRA Omnibus Survey (March 2006) indicates that some 11 per cent. of respondents aged 65 and over in Northern Ireland claim to access the internet from home. This rises to 14 per cent. who regularly make use of the internet and 24 per cent. who have access to an internet-enabled PC.

Pensioners

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the average amount pensioners in Northern Ireland spend on  (a) food and non-alcoholic drink,  (b) electricity and  (c) fuel each week.

David Hanson: Average weekly expenditure for pensioner households in Northern Ireland on the following commodities/services are as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 Food and non-alcoholic drinks 24.90 
			 Electricity 6.00 
			 Fuel (other fuels and gas) 10.70 
			  Source:  Northern Ireland Expenditure and Food Survey (EPS) 2004-05. 
		
	
	The definition of a pensioner household and the expenditure categories detailed in the table are consistent with those published for the UK, by the Office for National Statistics, in 'Family Spending: A report on the 2004-05 Expenditure and Food Survey'.

Pensioners

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of pensioner households in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland are classified as fuel poor.

David Hanson: The 2004 Interim House Condition Survey collected fuel poverty information on a Northern Ireland wide basis. Due to the small sample size it is not possible to break down the information into parliamentary constituency or district council area. The Survey did, however, indicate that 54 per cent. (82,310) of fuel poor households are headed by someone aged 60 or over.

Pensioners

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pensioners in Northern Ireland did not take up their eligibility to  (a) pension credit and  (b) housing benefit in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to ensure pensioners are informed of their benefit entitlements.

David Hanson: It is not possible to provide estimates of pensioners in Northern Ireland who did not take up their eligibility to pension credit and housing benefit.
	 Benefit uptake
	The Social Security Agency (SSA) promotes the range of benefits for pensioners through pension tele-centres in Belfast and Londonderry, the internet, promotional leaflets and regional benefit uptake events. A network of pension advisers is also located in its 35 jobs and benefit offices/social security offices.
	The 2005-06 Benefit Uptake Strategy piloted a number of exercises targeting 3,750 pensioners offering them a comprehensive benefit assessment. Of those targeted by the 2005-06 strategy 10 per cent. made successful claims; resulting in £400,000 paid in arrears and an average weekly increase of £30 for each successful customer amounting to additional yearly benefit spend of £575,000.
	The 2006-07 expanded programme is targeting 35,000 clients including older people, people with disabilities and carers. Of the 35,000 clients being targeted 33,000 are older people.
	The SSA has been working in partnership with the NI Housing Executive (NIHE) to promote uptake of housing benefit (HB) among the elderly. An exercise last year identified those in receipt of pension credit (PC), living in rented accommodation but not receiving HB. 23,765 people were contacted by the Agency and invited to apply for HB with the latest figures indicating 6,071 applications issued, with 3,923 (65 per cent.) having been returned and passed to either the NIHE or Rate Collection Agency for assessment.
	All new PC claimants are now also invited to apply for HB when making their claim for PC.

Police

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 18W, on police, whether the cheque written by the Northern Ireland Police Fund to L'Estrange and Brett Solicitors was queried by his Department  (a) as part of a financial return to his Department and  (b) at the end of the financial year in question.

Paul Goggins: The Department has not queried any details contained in either financial returns or end of year financial reports received from the Northern Ireland Police Fund for the financial year in question.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many resignations of senior police officers in each district command unit have occurred in the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The total number of senior PSNI officers (inspector rank and above) that have resigned from the service within the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2006 is three. This figure includes one chief inspector from Newtownabbey DCU and two inspectors—one from Lisburn DCU and one from Magherafelt.

Police

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 20W, on police, when it was decided to replace staff recruited externally with Northern Ireland Office (NIO) staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund; who made the decision to replace staff recruited externally with NIO staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund; and for what reason it was decided to replace staff recruited externally with NIO staff in the Northern Ireland Police Fund.

Paul Goggins: Recruitment of staff to the Northern Ireland Police Fund is a matter for the fund.

Railway Safety

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many fatalities have occurred on railway lines in Northern Ireland in the last three years; what action has been taken  (a) to secure access to train lines and  (b) to improve safety at level crossings; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: Translink have advised that there have been six fatalities on the railway lines in Northern Ireland over the last three years.
	Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) continually reviews safety with regard to access to railway lines and engages in a wide range of activities to prevent accidents. In this respect NIR recognises that a partnership is required between the public and Translink. By their nature it is not possible to totally separate rail lines from public access as access to and across tracks is required at various defined points.
	NIR has spent over £8 million upgrading either half or full barriers at public level crossings in the last five years. CCTV also protects full barrier crossings and the crossings are inspected on a quarterly basis for maintenance purposes. These crossings are also subject to Level Crossing Orders made under the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967. Furthermore, they are also subject to a tripartite annual safety inspection involving NIR, PSNI and Roads Service.
	NIR has developed a comprehensive risk model covering all private user accommodation crossings and has a programme of improvements and closures in progress to reduce overall risk. User worked crossings are inspected twice a year with access points, where defined, protected by a number of means including user worked gates and arras boards (planking laid on the ground) to discourage people and animals from going onto the track.

Recycling

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what initiatives are in place to promote recycling awareness in primary schools in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: Significant progress has been made across all sectors to integrate resource and waste management into the teaching curriculum for Northern Ireland primary schools.
	The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS)'s Wake Up to Waste awareness programme is providing targeted resources (including lesson plans, games and activities) for teachers that enable resource and waste management to be tied into the everyday teaching of all key stage groups. In addition, this approach is supplemented by the qualified teachers employed at each of the EHS's Environmental Education Centres across Northern Ireland, who have integrated waste education into their teaching programme.
	District councils have waste management education officers, who visit primary schools on a regular basis, raising awareness of how to prevent and recycle waste. In March 2006, EHS launched its Waste Education Resource Pack to provide support, guidance and practical tools for these officers.
	Non-governmental organisations funded by EHS also provide education officers to deliver waste education programmes in primary schools throughout Northern Ireland over the next three years.

Redundancy

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 22W, on redundancy, if the redundancy terms granted to employees of the Northern Ireland Police Fund who were laid off were  (a) forwarded to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and  (b) approved by the NIO in advance of their being agreed with staff.

Paul Goggins: Redundancy terms for staff employed by the Northern Ireland Police Fund are matters for the fund.

Registered Charities

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the registered charities in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: At present, charities in Northern Ireland are not registered. On 17 July 2006 I launched a public consultation about proposed new Northern Ireland charities legislation which will, inter alia, create a Northern Ireland Register of Charities and require all charities operating in Northern Ireland to register.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will introduce a medal to mark the bravery and service of Royal National Lifeboat Institution volunteers on the seas around Northern Ireland.

Peter Hain: Her Majesty The Queen is advised by the Committee on the grant of honours, decorations and medals on all matters to do with honours and medals. My department has no plans to recommend the introduction of such a medal to the Committee.

Road Safety

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths occurred on Northern Ireland's roads involving  (a) cyclists and  (b) motorbike riders and pillion passengers over the last three years, broken down by Westminster constituency.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided as follows. The Police Service of Northern Ireland collates information according to district command unit and cannot supply information broken down by Westminster constituency.
	
		
			  Number of motorcycle, pedal cycle and pillion passenger fatalities, 2003 to 2005 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			  DCU  Pillion  Motor cyclist  Pedal cyclist  Pillion  Motor cyclist  Pedal cyclist  Pillion  Motor cyclist  Pedal cyclist 
			 Antrim 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 
			 Ards 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Armagh 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 
			 Banbridge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 East Belfast 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Belfast 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 South Belfast 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Belfast 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Ballymena 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Ballymoney 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Carrickfergus 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Coleraine 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Cookstown 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Craigavon 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Castlereagh 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Down 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Fermanagh 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Foyle 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Larne 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Limavady 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Lisburn 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 North Down 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Omagh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 2 20 2 0 22 2 1 14 4

Science Teachers

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many unfilled vacancies there are for science teachers in secondary schools within each education and library board.

Maria Eagle: Since vacancies are identified by boards of governors in accordance with the staffing complement they determine under LMS, the information is not currently held by the Department of Education nor by the relevant employing authorities, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department of Education will carry out an annual survey of teacher vacancies in schools, the first in the autumn of this year, similar to that undertaken annually by DfES in January each year.

Secondary School Trips

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the risk assessment system is for secondary school trips in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The Department advises schools to carry out a risk assessment when they are planning trips. In 2002 the Department issued comprehensive guidance to schools entitled "Health and Safety of Pupils on Educational Visits", which was published by the then Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). The Education and Library Boards provided their own guidance to schools in 2004. Both sets of guidance provide advice on carrying out risk assessment, including evaluating potential risks, putting control measures or mitigations in place and informing all relevant people.

Sports Facilities

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of schools in Northern Ireland provided two hours of sports participation for pupils in the last period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not collect information on the amount of time schools allocate to any area within the curriculum, therefore the information requested is not available. It is a matter for individual schools to determine how much time they allocate to any subject but the Department has advised schools to provide at least two hours of physical education, including sport, each week.
	The Government recognise the importance of physical activity for the long-term health and wellbeing of the community. Therefore physical education is, and will remain, a compulsory part of the Northern Ireland curriculum.

Sustainable Buildings

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to ensure newly-built public buildings in Northern Ireland incorporate energy efficient measures.

David Hanson: A number of steps are being taken to ensure newly built public buildings in NI use energy efficient measures. These are:
	(i) A revision to the NI Building Regulations will apply from the end of November 2006. This will mean an improvement of around 40 per cent. on current energy standards.
	(ii) The Achieving Excellence Agenda for Construction. Under this agenda, a Policy Framework for Construction Procurement has been developed and implemented. The policy framework requires that, for all new Government buildings, energy efficiency measures over and above those required by the building regulations should be considered. These measures include low carbon design, energy targets, whole life costing and energy efficiency and management. In addition all new Government buildings should minimise energy used in construction and should aim to achieve a rating of Excellent using the Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method (BREEAM).

Tolerance Promotion

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategies his Department has in place to  (a) combat racism and  (b) promote tolerance between different ethnic groups within Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: The Government's Racial Equality Strategy for Northern Ireland and A Shared Future (Policy and Strategic Framework for Good Relations in Northern Ireland) provides the framework for Government and wider civic society to combat racism and sectarianism and to promote good relations. Both are supported by action plans which set out the practical steps to be taken by Government Departments and their agencies to promote racial equality and good relations.
	In addition, the Criminal Justice (No2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 "hate crime" deals with crimes motivated or aggravated by hatred based on race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. This legislation gives courts the power to increase prison sentences if it is proven that crimes are motivated by hatred.

Tourism

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tourists he expects to come to Northern Ireland in 2006; and how many came in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board's (NITB) Tourism Barometer implemented in June indicates a good 2006 performance to date by all tourism business sectors and a positive outlook for the summer period. Accommodation occupancy surveys also support evidence of a positive start to the year. 2006 visitor number forecasts for the full year are not yet available. The table indicates the number of visitors in the last three years.
	
		
			  Visitor Performance, 2003-05 
			   Number 
			 2005 1,972,000 
			 2004 1,985,000 
			 2003 1,896,000

Untaxed Vehicles

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many untaxed vehicles are estimated to be on Northern Ireland's roads.

David Cairns: A nationwide Vehicle Excise Duty Evasion Survey was undertaken by the Department for Transport during June 2005. The results showed that the vehicle excise evasion rate in traffic in Northern Ireland had fallen from 7.2 per cent. in the 2004 survey to 5.4 per cent. in 2005.
	Although 52,552 vehicles were surveyed in Northern Ireland, the sample size was insufficient to calculate a precise figure of evasion in vehicle stock. However, based on the in traffic evasion rate measured in the survey, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland estimates that the number of untaxed vehicles on Northern Ireland roads is approximately 50,000.
	Another Vehicle Excise Evasion Survey has been carried out in June 2006 and it is anticipated that the results will be available in the autumn.

Untaxed Vehicles

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many untaxed cars have been removed from the roads in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

David Cairns: The number of untaxed vehicles clamped/seized from the roads in Northern Ireland in each of the last five operational years is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001-02 413 
			 2002-03 2,872 
			 2003-04 1,435 
			 2004-05 1,899 
			 2005-06 5,343

Vocational Training

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many vocational training places are available in Northern Ireland for 16 year olds; and how many places were filled in 2004-05.

Maria Eagle: The Jobskills programme provides the guarantee of a training place for all 16 and 17-year-old school leavers wishing to avail of the opportunity for vocational training. It is not possible to split the data between 16 and 17-year-olds, however, in the 2004-05 financial year, 6,985 16 and 17-year-olds commenced the Jobskills programme.

Water Tax

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what average water tax  (a) lump sum figure and  (b) capital value levy will be charged on domestic households in (i) Northern Ireland as a whole and (ii) each district in Northern Ireland in 2007-08;
	(2)  what the latest estimate is of the average water tax bill per dwelling that will be paid in 2007-08 in  (a) Northern Ireland as a whole and  (b) each district in Northern Ireland.

David Cairns: The currently available capital value data enable information to be provided on the estimated average unmeasured bills for properties throughout Northern Ireland and within each local government district. The variable charge element of the bill is based on property capital value.
	The data in the following table show the estimated charges that would be payable in 2007-08—this is one-third of the full charge because charges are being phased in over three years from 1( )April 2007.
	
		
			  Estimated average unmeasured bills for Northern Ireland domestic properties, 2007-08 
			   Water charge  Sewerage charge  
			   Standing  Average variable  Total water  Standing  Average variable  Total sewerage  Overall total water and sewerage charges 
			 Northern Ireland 17 34 50 18 36 54 104 
			 Antrim 17 31 48 18 31 50 98 
			 Ards 17 38 54 18 40 58 112 
			 Armagh 17 32 49 18 30 49 98 
			 Ballymena 17 32 49 18 33 51 100 
			 Ballymoney 17 30 47 18 31 50 97 
			 Banbridge 17 32 49 18 31 49 98 
			 Belfast 17 34 50 18 38 55 105 
			 Carrickfergus 17 30 47 18 33 52 99 
			 Castlereagh 17 39 56 18 43 62 118 
			 Coleraine 17 36 53 18 40 58 111 
			 Cookstown 17 34 51 18 35 53 105 
			 Craigavon 17 27 44 18 28 47 91 
			 Derry 17 28 45 18 31 49 94 
			 Down 17 35 52 18 36 54 107 
			 Dungannon 17 33 50 18 34 52 102 
			 Fermanagh 17 32 49 18 32 51 100 
			 Larne 17 27 44 18 28 47 91 
			 Limavady 17 29 46 18 30 48 95 
			 Lisburn 17 37 53 18 38 56 109 
			 Magherafelt 17 33 50 18 35 53 104 
			 Moyle 17 34 51 18 36 54 105 
			 Newry and Mourne 17 36 53 18 36 54 107 
			 Newtownabbey 17 31 48 18 34 53 101 
			 North Down 17 44 61 18 48 66 127 
			 Omagh 17 30 47 18 30 48 95 
			 Strabane 17 25 42 18 26 44 87 
			  Note:  Totals might not add up due to rounding.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

1901 Census

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what income has been received from the release of sections of the Online 1901 Census in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: The National Archives has not released sections of the 1901 Census in the last 12 months.
	The whole of the 1901 Census was released to the public in January 2002.

Adoption Placements

Annette Brooke: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what average time was taken to obtain a court date from the time of application for an adoption placement order in  (a) London and  (b) other parts of England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: The average time taken to obtain a court date from the time of application in adoption cases over the last two financial years is as follows:
	
		
			  (a) London 
			   Weeks 
			 2004-05 4.65 
			 2005-06 6.02 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Nationally 
			   Weeks 
			 2004-05 5.56 
			 2005-06 5.71

Coroners

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to reduce delays in the coroners' service.

Harriet Harman: There are measures in the draft Coroners Bill which will assist coroners to operate more effectively, in particular the appointment of a Chief Coroner to provide national leadership and to introduce national standards, including on the timely hearing of inquests. The Chief Coroner will have oversight of the workload of coroners and, subject to the views of relatives and other interested parties and taking account of the requirements of the new coroners charter for bereaved people, he or she will be able to reallocate cases to reduce the length of time it takes for an investigation to be completed. The Chief Coroner will make an annual report to the Lord Chancellor on the performance of the coroner system and, in turn, the Lord Chancellor will ensure the report is laid before Parliament. A Coronial Advisory Council will also be appointed to provide advice, and make recommendations, to the Chief Coroner and Lord Chancellor on any matters relating to the operation of the coroner system.

Coroners

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what mechanisms are available to members of the public to make complaints about coroners.

Harriet Harman: In the event that a complainant is unable to resolve the matter with the coroner, a complaint about the personal conduct of a coroner can be made to the Office for Judicial Complaints. Coroners were brought into the remit of the disciplinary provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 on 3 April 2006. Regulations made under the Act, entitled "Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2006", set out the responsibilities of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice, and the Office for Judicial Complaints, with regard to the handling of complaints and the discipline of judicial office holders. Further information is available on the website of the Office for Judicial Complaints, at www.judicialcomplaints.gov.uk.
	Where a member of the public wishes to challenge a judicial decision made by a coroner, this must be pursued through the court process. The draft Coroners Bill provides for new appeal arrangements which will make it easier for the public to seek review of coroners' decisions, relating to both an investigation and an inquest. The procedure for complaining about coroners' personal conduct will remain the same.

Correspondence

Mark Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Ceredigion of 14 March 2006 to the former Foreign Secretary, regarding Mr. Toby Glaister.

Harriet Harman: The right hon. the Baroness Ashton of Upholland wrote to the hon. Member on 28 April 2006 in response to his letter of 14 March 2006 to the Foreign Secretary. I apologise that the letter of 28 April omitted to say that the letter of 14 March was transferred to my Department for reply.

Courts Service

Christopher Chope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what the budget for 2006-07 is for the Courts Service in  (a) Dorset,  (b) Gloucestershire and  (c) Wiltshire; and what changes will be made to the budget as a result of the restructuring in October;
	(2)  what consultation was carried out prior to the decision to amalgamate the Dorset Courts Board with the Wiltshire Courts Board and the Gloucestershire Courts Board from October; and what the effect of the restructuring will be upon the Courts Service in Dorset;
	(3)  how many people are employed by the Courts Service in  (a) Dorset,  (b) Gloucestershire and  (c) Wiltshire; and how many jobs will be lost in each county as a result of the restructuring in October.

Harriet Harman: The budget allocation for FY 2006-07 is: Dorset—£7.647 million; Gloucestershire—£5.644 million; and Wiltshire—£6.620 million. Re-structuring will not be completed until 31 March 2007 and no changes will be made to the FY2006-07 budget allocations for these three areas as a result of the re-structuring exercise. The appropriate budget allocation for the new amalgamated Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire area will be determined in due course as part of the annual financial planning cycle.
	Under the provisions of the Courts Act 2003, Section 4, the Lord Chancellor may make orders altering the HMCS areas but, before doing so, must consult any Courts Board(s) affected. This process has been invoked and each of the existing Court Boards have been invited to express their views by 31 July 2006. It is anticipated that the separate Courts Boards for Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire will continue to operate in their current form until the end of FY 2006-07. Meanwhile, arrangements will be made to select members for a new single Courts Board which will correspond to the amalgamated Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire area. This will be done in close liaison with the Chairmen and Members of the existing bodies. Delivery of the service to court users in Dorset (as with Gloucestershire and Wiltshire) will not be affected by the re-structuring, and support to the judiciary at bench and court level will remain as it is now.
	The number of people employed by Her Majesty's Courts Service in the three areas (expressed as full-time equivalents) as at June 2006 is: Dorset—219; Gloucestershire—163; and Wiltshire—193. While the precise management structure for the amalgamated area cannot be determined until a new Area Director has been appointed in October 2006, it is likely that re-structuring will directly affect only a very small number of senior management posts and those more junior staff who directly support them, leaving the courts operational staff unaffected. It is anticipated that this will be achieved through a combination of redeployment, natural wastage and targeted voluntary redundancy. Trades Unions will be consulted, at every stage.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what percentage of the staff in her Department is  (a) male,  (b) female and  (c) disabled, broken down by grade.

Harriet Harman: The statistics requested are as at 31 December 2005 in the following tables. Declaration of a disability is voluntary and the statistics are therefore based on the number of respondents to a confidential questionnaire, which all staff are asked to complete, and not total staff.
	Staff from the 42 former magistrates courts areas were transferred into DCA in April 2005. They operate different terms and conditions, including grade structures, which do not map into known government grades. For that reason figures have been shown separately and can only be presented as an overall figure.
	
		
			  Table 1: DCA gender/disability broken down by grade (excluding magistrates courts) 
			  Percentage 
			  Government grade  Female  Male  Declared disability 
			 AA 62.84 37.16 4.95 
			 AO 69.55 30.45 4.41 
			 EO 68.47 31.53 3.50 
			 EO(h)/HEO(l) 48.44 51.56 3.97 
			 HEO 61.47 38.53 4.33 
			 SEO 51.53 48.47 3.21 
			 G7 49.38 50.62 3.53 
			 G6 43.00 57.00 1.93 
			 SCS 36.36 63.64 1.30 
			 Grand total 64.57 35.43 4.13 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Magistrates courts gender/disability, all grades 
			  Percentage 
			  Government grade  Female  Male  Declared disability 
			 All 70.99 29.01 1.33

Digital Documents

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure the long-term preservation of documents held in digital form.

Harriet Harman: The National Archives is working with the Government's Chief Technical Officers (CTO) Council to address the problem of the survival of electronic records with a mid and long-term value across Government.
	The National Archives has implemented a Digital Preservation Programme to ensure the long-term preservation of documents held in digital form. It has established
	a Digital Archive facility, in which it preserves a wide range of electronic records transferred by Government departments;
	a Web Archiving Programme to preserve government websites of long-term value;
	the National Digital Archive of Datasets to preserve historically significant datasets created over the past thirty years.

Dr. David Kelly

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to her answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, column 304W, on Dr. David Kelly, if she will list the occasions since 1 January 2003 when  (a) the Lord Chancellor and  (b) (i) Ministers and (ii) officials from her Department have met (A) the Deputy Coroner of Oxfordshire, (B) the Assistant Deputy Coroner of Oxfordshire and (C) anyone else responsible to the Oxfordshire Coroner.

Harriet Harman: There has been one meeting between my officials and one of the newly appointed assistant deputy coroners of the Oxfordshire jurisdiction to discuss progress on the inquests into those who have died in the Iraq conflict.

Family Courts

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on how many occasions during 2005-06 parents involved in cases in the Family Court were informed of a delay to the reports required by the court.

Harriet Harman: The information requested is not collected.

Family Courts

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with the judiciary about the openness of family courts;
	(2)  when she last met the President of the Family Division.

Harriet Harman: Since being appointed as Minister for Family Justice, I have discussed openness of the family courts with a wide range of stakeholders. Members of the judiciary included:
	Sir Mark Potter, President, and Lord Justice Thorpe;
	Mr. Justice Ryder;
	Mrs. Justice Black and Mr. Justice McFarlane;
	District Judge (Magistrates Courts) Crichton; and
	Margaret Wilson JP.
	I have also visited Wells Street and Croydon family proceedings courts where I met a number of magistrates; and I have spoken at the President's Conference, which was attended by 97 members of the judiciary, and to the Greater London Family Panel, which was attended by 90 members of the judiciary.
	I last met the President of the Family Division on 3 July 2006.

FOI Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance she has issued to freedom of information officers to assist them in recognising the circumstances in which they should apply environmental information regulations rather than the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Harriet Harman: On 5 June 2006, my Department published guidance on examining the key differences between the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI Act). This guidance was specifically designed to assist freedom of information officers in recognising circumstances in which they should apply the EIRs rather than the FOI Act. The guidance is called "EIR/FOI Boundaries Guidance" and can be found at www.foigov.uk. My Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs continue to provide advice and assistance to Departments on the interpretation of the FOI Act and the EIRs.

Gravestones

Greg Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what response the Government have made to reports of the Local Government Ombudsman on the inappropriate  (a) destruction and  (b) moving of gravestones by local authorities.

Harriet Harman: The Local Government Ombudsmen's special report on memorial safety in local authority cemeteries was a helpful and timely reminder to local authorities that it should normally be unnecessary to lay down large numbers of gravestones.
	The Government are considering what further advice and guidance it may be appropriate to issue on this matter.

Home Repossession

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court orders have been made for the repossession of homes in each London borough since 1987.

Harriet Harman: The following table shows the number of mortgage possession orders made in all London county courts since 1987.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with London borough boundaries, and therefore any single court's repossession actions are likely to relate to homes in a number of different boroughs.
	These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
	
		
			  Number of mortgage( 1)  possession orders made in county courts( 2)  in London, 1987-2005 
			   1987  1988  1989  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995 
			 Brent 349 311 372 272 821 345 332 248 117 
			 Bow 470 724 1832 1614 1974 1046 1183 563 421 
			 Brentford 313 475 568 588 965 779 445 273 236 
			 Bromley 401 461 557 405 811 486 447 340 285 
			 Central London 0 0 0 0 0 585 885 585 537 
			 Clerkenwell 72 102 96 120 225 353 245 120 221 
			 Croydon 549 357 470 1256 2306 816 672 593 542 
			 Edmonton 509 261 860 682 815 1016 713 369 534 
			 Ilford 172 452 283 386 484 386 319 186 146 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 161 134 215 479 465 499 369 292 259 
			 Lambeth 203 587 397 505 421 649 337 291 319 
			 Mayors and City 0 0 0 11 4 5 7 3 11 
			 Romford 309 286 425 434 579 412 271 180 202 
			 Shorditch 135 104 145 195 222 256 268 99 120 
			 Uxbridge 302 265 329 697 562 435 407 321 335 
			 Wandsworth 213 193 588 497 607 443 478 375 287 
			 West London 146 133 189 323 380 380 249 168 236 
			 Willesden 440 510 578 1965 1650 1114 943 1635 1095 
			 Woolwich 171 228 268 209 425 395 255 156 143 
			 Bloomsbury 220 358 495 466 643 973 (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Westminster 11 62 54 42 41 36 (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 London total 5,146 6,003 8,721 11,146 14,400 11,409 8,825 6,797 6,046 
		
	
	
		
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Brent 123 66 48 115 78 66 100 97 143 302 
			 Bow 520 389 709 662 291 176 248 295 456 817 
			 Brentford 225 103 216 222 138 110 113 124 189 290 
			 Bromley 218 186 164 154 163 103 161 235 271 486 
			 Central London 303 83 104 26 52 43 88 101 162 281 
			 Clerkenwell 61 65 80 104 33 31 35 59 78 132 
			 Croydon 485 392 372 301 252 257 254 338 394 644 
			 Edmonton 365 602 296 175 143 176 206 228 285 553 
			 Ilford 216 137 223 127 120 105 115 93 219 309 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 283 222 140 138 88 58 58 91 94 165 
			 Lambeth 177 139 131 43 66 117 160 195 311 533 
			 Mayors and City 3 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 2 0 
			 Romford 137 172 123 119 100 111 118 179 211 445 
			 Shorditch 114 97 110 285 45 48 80 113 155 225 
			 Uxbridge 254 94 159 192 143 108 100 98 149 227 
			 Wandsworth 344 206 144 247 59 96 100 135 187 295 
			 West London 238 115 75 43 41 40 40 64 79 150 
			 Willesden 613 251 332 310 168 155 147 236 255 459 
			 Woolwich 134 107 88 97 91 53 96 96 181 348 
			 Bloomsbury (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 Westminster (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— (4)— 
			 London Total 4,813 3,426 3,516 3,362 2,073 1,854 2,220 2,777 3,821 6,661 
			 (1) Local authority and private. (2) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (3) For the years 1987 to 1989, "Suspended orders" were not separately counted. They are thus included in "Orders made". (4) Court closed.

Information Commissioner

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she plans to make an announcement on the budget for the Information Commissioner's Office.

Harriet Harman: I have no plans to make an announcement on the budget for the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The Commissioner's budget is derived from two sources. His data protection work is funded by notification fees payable under the Data Protection Act 1998. His freedom of information work is funded by grant in aid. On 18 April 2006, Baroness Ashton announced to the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee that an additional £550,000 in funding would be provided to the ICO. This means that the total grant in aid for the ICO for 2006-07 is £5,550,000.

Legal Aid

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Consitutional Affairs how much in legal aid has been provided to Mr. Nabeel Sami Fathallah; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: I am not able to disclose this information. The Department can only disclose legal aid details where individuals have received legal aid in connection with litigation, and where that litigation has ceased.

Magistrates

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates there are in courts in each London borough, broken down by  (a) age,  (b) ethnicity and  (c) sex.

Harriet Harman: Magistrates are assigned to 28 Local Justice Areas in London. The following table provides a breakdown of the average age, ethnicity and gender of magistrates for each area, as of 20 July 2006.
	
		
			 Ethnicity  Gender 
			  Local justice area  Total  Average age  White  BME  Unknown  Female  Male 
			 Barking and Dagenham 88 56 71 17 (1)— 42 46 
			 Barnet 111 57 93 17 (1)— 69 42 
			 Bexley 105 57 93 10 (1)— 49 56 
			 Brent 142 57 98 44 (1)— 82 60 
			 Bromley 110 57 100 9 (1)— 53 57 
			 Camden and Islington 79 56 63 14 (1)— 46 33 
			 City of London 136 55 111 25 (1)— 75 61 
			 City of Westminster 108 56 90 18 (1)— 63 45 
			 Croydon 175 55 143 31 (1)— 83 92 
			 Ealing 133 55 95 37 (1)— 72 61 
			 Enfield 111 55 85 25 (1)— 56 55 
			 Greenwich and Lewisham 71 56 55 14 (1)— 45 26 
			 Hackney and Tower Hamlets 62 54 47 15 (1)— 30 32 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea 56 54 43 10 (1)— 33 23 
			 Haringey 158 57 135 22 (1)— 93 65 
			 Harrow Gore 96 57 76 19 (1)— 52 44 
			 Havering 87 57 80 6 (1)— 35 52 
			 Hillingdon 115 57 92 20 (1)— 57 58 
			 Hounslow 141 55 92 43 6 60 81 
			 Kingston-Upon-Thames 84 56 77 (1)— (1)— 49 35 
			 Lambeth and Southwark 72 55 60 11 (1)— 44 28 
			 Merton 101 55 88 12 (1)— 60 41 
			 Newham 112 54 70 41 (1)— 52 60 
			 Redbridge 112 54 80 32 (1)— 62 50 
			 Richmond-Upon-Thames 85 58 82 (1)— (1)— 49 36 
			 Sutton 91 58 84 5 (1)— 41 50 
			 Waltham Forest 106 55 74 32 (1)— 48 58 
			 Wandsworth 65 56 49 10 6 38 27 
			 Grand total 2,912 56 2,326 546 40 1,538 1,374 
			 (1) Figures less than five are not quoted following established government statistics guidelines for protecting the confidentiality of data subjects.

Magistrates

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps her Department is taking to encourage magistrates from ethnic minority backgrounds; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: We have put in place a range of measures to attract magistrates from ethnic minority backgrounds including:
	informative publicity material about the magistracy to encourage applications from all sections of local communities and to raise awareness among employers;
	a new Working Group of the main employer organisations and the Trade Union Congress has been set up to seek their active support in encouraging employees to join the magistracy;
	funding of the Magistrates Shadowing Scheme run by Operation Black Vote to enable people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups to shadow magistrates in order to gain valuable insight into the roles and responsibilities of a magistrate, and encourage applications.
	Progress has been made in increasing diversity among magistrates.
	As of 31 March 2005 there were 28,300 magistrates of which 6.7 per cent. were from the Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. As of 31 March 2006 the magistracy increased to 28,865, of which the proportion of those from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds rose to 7.2 per cent.

Magistrates Courts

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many magistrates courts have closed in each year since 1980, broken down into  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many magistrates courts have closed in each year since 1980 in  (a) rural areas and  (b) non-rural areas; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: My Department does not hold information on the magistrates courthouse closures which occurred prior to 1995. The following table provides details of the magistrates court closures (broken down into  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas) which took place between 1995 and 2006. HM Courts Service is committed to improving the standard of facilities provided to court users and in delivering greater value for money by increasing courtroom utilization. This includes the modernization and building of new modern courthouses as well as the co-location of magistrates courts with county courts.
	
		
			  Number of magistrates courts closed in each year since 1995( 1) 
			   Rural 75  Rural 50  Significant rural  Other urban  Large urban  Major urban  Total number of courts closed 
			 1995 3 1 1 0 2 0 7 
			 1996 8 6 2 2 0 3 21 
			 1997 2 4 3 3 1 8 21 
			 1998 12 4 1 3 2 3 25 
			 1999 1 0 1 2 1 2 7 
			 2000 8 1 0 2 0 2 13 
			 2001 12 7 3 3 3 2 30 
			 2002 5 0 2 0 0 0 7 
			 2003 9 2 1 1 0 0 13 
			 2004 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 
			 2005 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2006 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 (1) The rural constituency classification (introduced by the Rural Evidence Research Centre on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2006) has been used to define whether court closures took place in rural/urban areas. The classification divides constituencies into the following six categories:  Rural 75: Over 75 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns) Rural 50: Over 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements (including 207 large market towns) Significant rural: More than 37,000 or between 26 per cent. and 50 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements. Other urban: Fewer than 37,000 or less than 26 per cent. of the population live in rural settlements; Large urban: A minimum of 50,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a large urban area; Major urban: A minimum of 100,000 or 50 per cent. of the population live in a major urban area (i.e. over 750,000 of the population).

Magistrates Courts

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts there are in each London borough.

Harriet Harman: The information is as follows.
	
		
			  Court(s)  Borough 
			 Barking Magistrates Court Barking and Dagenham 
			 Barnet Magistrates Court and Hendon Magistrates Court Barnet 
			 Bexley Magistrates Court Bexley 
			 Brent Magistrates Court Brent 
			 Bromley Magistrates Court Bromley 
			 (Served by Highbury Corner Magistrates Court) Camden 
			 City of London Magistrates Court City of London 
			 City of Westminster Magistrates Court and Marylebone Magistrates Court City of Westminster 
			 Croydon Magistrates Court Croydon 
			 Ealing Magistrates Court and Acton Magistrates Court Ealing 
			 Enfield Magistrates Court Enfield 
			 Greenwich Magistrates Court, Woolwich Magistrates Court and Belmarsh Magistrates Court Greenwich 
			 (Served by Thames Magistrates Court) Hackney 
			 West London Magistrates Court Hammersmith and Fulham 
			 Haringey Magistrates Court Haringey 
			 Harrow Magistrates Court Harrow 
			 Havering Magistrates Court Havering 
			 Uxbridge Magistrates Court Hillingdon 
			 Feltham Magistrates Court and Brentford Magistrates Court Hounslow 
			 Highbury Corner Magistrates Court Islington 
			 (Served by West London Magistrates Court) Kensington and Chelsea 
			 Kingston Magistrates Court Kingston 
			 Camberwell Green Magistrates Court Lambeth 
			 (Served by Greenwich Magistrates Court) Lewisham 
			 Wimbledon Magistrates Court Merton 
			 Stratford Magistrates Court Newham 
			 Redbridge Magistrates Court Redbridge 
			 Richmond Magistrates Court Richmond 
			 Tower Bridge Magistrates Court Southwark 
			 Sutton Magistrates Court Sutton 
			 Thames Magistrates Court Tower Hamlets 
			 Waltham Forest Magistrates Court Waltham Forest 
			 South Western Magistrates Court (and Balham Youth Court) Wandsworth

Magistrates Courts

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates courts in England and Wales closed in each year since 1979.

Harriet Harman: My Department does not hold information on the magistrates courthouse closures which occurred prior to 1995. The following table provides details of the magistrates court closures which took place between 1995 and 2006. HM Courts Service is committed to improving the standard of facilities provided to court users and in delivering greater value for money by increasing courtroom utilization. This includes the modernization and building of new modern courthouses as well as the co-location of magistrates courts and county courts.
	
		
			   Total number of courts closed 
			 1995 7 
			 1996 21 
			 1997 21 
			 1998 25 
			 1999 7 
			 2000 13 
			 2001 30 
			 2002 7 
			 2003 13 
			 2004 2 
			 2005 0 
			 2006 2

Outsourcing

David Gauke: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what administrative functions for which her Department is responsible are outsourced overseas; and what assessment she has made of the merits of outsourcing further such functions overseas.

Harriet Harman: My Department has not outsourced any of its administrative functions overseas and has no plans to do so. No assessment has been made of the merits of off-shoring.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she will answer question 67393, on legal aid, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South for answer on 2 May 2006.

Vera Baird: I have today responded to the hon. Member's question. It raised important legal considerations concerning the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and these took time to consider. I am sorry that it has taken so long.

Private Prosecutions

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many private prosecutions were undertaken in  (a) Southend-on-Sea,  (b) Essex and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many (i) succeeded and (ii) failed in each year; and how many were stopped on the grounds of (A) public interest and (B) insufficient evidence in each year.

Harriet Harman: Information about the number of private prosecutions is not collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to the Department.

Rescheduled Court Cases

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many court cases in each London court had to be rescheduled because the defendant failed  (a) to attend and  (b) to bring the appropriate documentation in each of the last five years.

Harriet Harman: The following tables show the number of trials held in London which had to be rescheduled (became ineffective) because the defendant did not attend. Separate tables are provided for cases dealt with in the magistrates courts where data are only available for Local Justice Areas, and for each of the Crown courts. Information on the number of cases where the defendant failed to bring the appropriate documentation is not collected and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Ineffective trials due to defendant non-attendance in the Crown court( 1) 
			  Crown court centre  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Blackfriars 25 35 19 24 19 
			 Central criminal court 7 6 2 1 2 
			 Croydon 47 32 37 17 10 
			 Harrow 32 29 27 15 17 
			 Inner London Sessions House 38 53 34 35 31 
			 Isleworth 35 43 42 30 23 
			 Kingston upon Thames 18 31 37 25 22 
			 Middlesex Guildhall 29 32 31 11 5 
			 Snaresbrook 73 66 72 74 49 
			 Southwark 40 64 38 15 30 
			 Wood Green 36 49 34 16 13 
			 Woolwich 20 19 20 13 11 
			 Total 400 459 393 276 232 
			 (1 )Does not include defendant absence through illness or non-production from prison 
		
	
	
		
			  Ineffective trials due to defendants non attendance in each Local Justice Area in the London magistrates court region( 1) 
			   Financial year 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking 34 47 17 
			 Barnet 63 49 52 
			 Bexley 37 44 10 
			 Brent 62 64 55 
			 Bromley 46 51 12 
			 City of London 40 30 31 
			 Croydon 171 130 23 
			 Ealing 72 63 29 
			 East Central 91 176 145 
			 Enfield 36 60 24 
			 Haringey 61 88 43 
			 Harrow 75 35 23 
			 Havering 27 32 13 
			 Hillingdon 193 85 60 
			 Hounslow 59 45 18 
			 Kingston upon Thames 19 16 5 
			 North Westminster 24 44 25 
			 Redbridge 47 75 31 
			 Richmond upon Thames 36 14 12 
			 South Central 206 193 89 
			 South Eastern 82 90 56 
			 South Western 69 55 40 
			 South Westminster 255 176 86 
			 Stratford 111 124 65 
			 Sutton 42 21 8 
			 Thames 158 182 113 
			 Waltham Forest 80 44 23 
			 West London 196 113 57 
			 Wimbledon 28 8 6 
			 Total 2,420 2,154 1,171 
			 (1 )Does not include defendant absence through illness or non-production from prison.

Residential Property Tribunal

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the fee is for a property owner to appeal a Final Empty Dwelling Management Order to a Residential Property Tribunal.

Vera Baird: The fee would be £150.

Special Advocates

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many statements have been made by victims' special advocates in  (a) Cardiff,  (b) Manchester,  (c) Birmingham and  (d) London.

Harriet Harman: No family impact statements have yet been made in any of the five pilot courts. The scheme applies to cases where a charge of murder or manslaughter is brought on or after 24 April 2006.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by her Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

Harriet Harman: Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported. The Department has provided information for the Joint Committee on Statutory Instrument's Departmental Returns report for 2005. This is due to be published shortly. In 2006 there have been three statutory instruments reported as defective.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what advertising campaigns the Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

David Lammy: The Department had a zero spend on advertising between 2000 and 2002. The expenditure on advertising from 2003 has been as follows.
	
		
			   Spend (£) 
			 2003-04 (1)20,987 
			 2004-05 (1)37,085 
			 (1 )BBC Charter

Arts Council England

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much of the grant-in-aid to Arts Council England was allocated to theatre between 1997 and 2005;
	(2)  how much of the Arts Council England allocation to subsidised theatre between 1997 and 2005 was paid to  (a) actors,  (b) musicians and  (c) writers;
	(3)  what representations she has received from  (a) theatre managers,  (b) orchestras and  (c) entertainment trade unions regarding the impact of the comprehensive spending review on theatre between 2008 and 2011.

David Lammy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him on 18 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 331-32W.

BBC Charter

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her oral statement of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1156, on the BBC Charter, what additional areas of the BBC's financial responsibilities she is considering adding to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: We are not considering adding any areas of the BBC's financial responsibility to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office (NAO). As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced, we are currently exploring with the NAO how we might best establish an efficiency benchmark against which future performance might be judged.

Broadcasting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her oral statement of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1156, on broadcasting, which areas of the BBC's financial responsibilities her Department is considering adding to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: We are not considering adding any areas of the BBC's financial responsibility to the scrutiny remit of the National Audit Office (NAO). We are currently exploring with the NAO how we might best establish an efficiency benchmark against which future performance might be judged.

Chance to Shine Campaign

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initial assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Chance to Shine campaign; and if she will extend similar schemes to other sports.

Richard Caborn: The "Chance to Shine" initiative, a £50 million campaign to improve participation in cricket in state schools and run by the Cricket Foundation, has recently issued its first mid-term report.
	In the six weeks since its launch, 33,600 boys and girls have taken part in the schools programme, 7,471 curriculum and extra-curriculum sessions have been delivered and 504 boys and girls in schools involved in the initiative have joined clubs.
	It is anticipated that over the next 10 years, "Chance to Shine" will reach a third of all schools in England and Wales.
	There are no plans to extend the scheme to other sports.

Computing Equipment

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computers hard drives,  (f) internal computer hard drives and  (g) desktop computers were purchased for use in her Department in each month since March 2005.

David Lammy: This question cannot be answered save at disproportionate cost.

Cultural Agreement with India

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the United Kingdom Government have to establish a cultural agreement with India; and with which countries the United Kingdom Government has established a cultural agreement.

Tessa Jowell: The United Kingdom does not have general cultural agreements with other countries. However, we are in the process of finalising a Film Co-Production Treaty with India. The UK has similar Agreements on Film with France, Germany, Canada, Norway, Australia and New Zealand and we are also finalising one with South Africa.

Departmental Staff

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were employed in her Department in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. Historical information on the numbers of people employed by DCMS and its agency, The Royal Parks, is available in the Library and on the civil service website at:
	<http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/archive/staff/index.asp>
	Data for 2005 can be found at:
	<http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/employment/index.asp>

Digital Switchover

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that proprietors of homes in multiple dwelling units are informed of the necessary steps to upgrade their properties to receive digital television;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to encourage private landlords to upgrade their properties to provide digital television services to their tenants.

Shaun Woodward: The digital switchover programme, led by Digital UK working with Government and Ofcom, has established a dedicated workstream on housing issues. This will make sure the progress in converting communal television systems is tracked and that the right messages go to private and social landlords and to managing agents and other representatives. It will also be important to make sure that tenants are aware of what is happening, something Digital UK will do as part of its wider communications campaigns.
	The housing workstream is supported by a dedicated Housing Stakeholder Group, chaired by Ross Fraser, the chief executive of Housemark and drawn from representatives from the private and social housing sectors, from practitioners, and from tenants' representatives, as well as central and local government.

Digital Switchover

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has had with  (a) the National Landlords Association and  (b) the National Housing Federation since 2001 on the provision of digital television services to tenants in private accommodation.

Shaun Woodward: We have had extensive contacts with the National Landlords Association and National Housing Federation regarding the provision of digital television services and digital switchover. Both organisations were represented on the editorial board which oversaw the development of the "Digital Switchover: A Good Practice Briefing Special", which we published, in association with the Chartered Institute of Housing in August 2005.

Digital Switchover

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether it is her policy to support the use of integrated reception systems to provide digital services in multiple dwelling units.

Shaun Woodward: No. It is for landlords in consultation with residents to determine the most appropriate way of adapting communal TV aerial systems for digital television services.

Digital Switchover

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the transmitter upgrade timetable is for digital switchover in Wales.

Shaun Woodward: Digital switchover will begin in the second half of 2009 in the HTV Wales region. We hope to be able to provide more specific information on the transmitter timetable for Wales later in the year, as well as for the west country and Granada regions, where the process will also begin in 2009.

Disability Discrimination Act

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department provides to assist  (a) small hotels,  (b) guest houses and  (c) other tourism businesses to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Shaun Woodward: Visit Britain's National Accessible Scheme (NAS) helps hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation and other accommodation providers, to improve access and quality for those with hearing, mobility and visual impairment. It includes a self-assessment pack, which businesses can complete to see where improvements should be made to improve access.
	In addition the Department paid a grant of £27,500 to Tourism for All in 2005-06 to help them provide their holiday care information service, update their current database of service users and members and to organise a series of roadshows to raise awareness about access improvements made by businesses and local authorities with suitable marketing opportunities. Tourism for All provides an important service to disabled people and helps the tourism industry to meet their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Football

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 722W, on fixture lists, with which  (a) football authorities and  (b) sports governing bodies she is consulting; and what the process of consultation will be.

Richard Caborn: My officials are currently consulting with all of the football authorities including the FA, the FA premier league and the Football League on the Independent European Sports Review. We will also be consulting the devolved Administrations who have responsibility for sport in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR) who represent the interests of all sporting national governing bodies.
	We will be holding a number of bilaterals with these consultees and will be encouraging them to reply formally to Jose Luis Arnaut, the author of the review, by the end of September.

Football

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Football Association Premier League on ticket pricing.

Richard Caborn: I have not held any discussions with the FA Premier League on ticket pricing.
	The Government have no role in the commercial and sporting operation of professional football. The issue of season ticket prices is a matter between individual clubs and the relevant football authorities.

Football

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what investigations her Department is undertaking into the football transfer market; and when they will report.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no plans for any investigation into the football transfer market. This is, however, an issue that has been raised in the European Sports Review recently published by Jose Luis Arnaut.

Gambling

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of turnover in the gambling industry in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the extent to which recent increases in turnover in the gambling industry have been a result of  (a) increasing losses by those taking part in gambling activities and  (b) new participants.

Richard Caborn: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on gambling expenditure (i.e. stakes minus winnings) by UK households. In the last five financial years, expenditure on gambling, including the national lottery, is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 7,216 
			 2002-03 7,773 
			 2003-04 8,695 
			 2004-05 9,826 
			 2005-06 9,807 
		
	
	The Gambling Act 2005, which will be fully implemented from September 2007, introduces a regulatory regime designed to ensure that the industry is crime-free, that gambling is fair, and that children and vulnerable people are properly protected.

Gambling

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the scale of betting conducted on British sporting events in other EU member states.

Richard Caborn: The Government do not hold information relating to bets taken by operators based outside Great Britain.

Gambling

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has made to the EU study on gambling services in the internal market of the EU.

Richard Caborn: My Department submitted evidence to the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, which undertook the study on behalf of the European Commission, and an official attended a briefing for member states hosted by the Swiss Institute.

Gambling

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact on market share of UK-based gambling and betting businesses of their effective regulation.

Richard Caborn: A Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Gambling Act 2005 was published on 21 April 2005. We are currently working through the programme of secondary legislation needed to implement the Act, in order that the process of implementation will be complete in September 2007. Statutory Instruments will be accompanied by Regulatory Impact Assessments where appropriate.

Gambling

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what powers the Government have to control online advertising of  (a) online and  (b) casino gambling; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Committee of Advertising Practice will set standards and codes for non-broadcast advertising of gambling activities, including online advertising. The Secretary of State also has reserve powers under the Gambling Act 2005 to make regulations with regard to the form, content, timing and location of gambling advertising. She will not hesitate to use these powers if it becomes clear that self-regulation is not sufficient to protect children and vulnerable people from exploitation. Both the CAP codes and any Secretary of State regulations will apply to all non-broadcast advertising by gambling operators, wherever they are licensed.
	Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission has the power to attach a condition to the licences it issues making provision for how gambling facilities may be advertised or described.
	In addition, Section 331 of the Gambling Act prohibits any gambling operator based outside the European Economic Area or Gibraltar from advertising in the UK unless a specific exemption has been made for that jurisdiction under sub-section 331(4).

Gambling

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions her Department has held with the Treasury on the taxation regime for online gambling; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Officials from this department speak regularly with colleagues from other Government departments across a wide range of issues.

Gaming Machines

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when she expects to be able to announce her decision regarding the stake and prize levels of category C gaming machines;

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she plans to raise the permitted level of stakes and prizes for category C gaming machines;

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether stakes and prize levels for category C gaming machines are being re-considered.

Richard Caborn: I have had very constructive discussions with the relevant industry organisations and others interested in stake and prize levels for gaming machines and will be making an announcement shortly.

Horse Racing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what account was taken of the Jockey Club's financial position in proposals to transfer functions to the new Horserace Regulatory Authority.

Richard Caborn: This is a matter for the Jockey Club, which I understand has made an assessment of its financial position in relation to the transfer of its functions to the new Horserace Regulatory Authority.

Horse Racing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the horserace betting levy with EU legislation.

Richard Caborn: The arrangements relating to the horserace betting levy were established before the UK joined the European Community. The European Commission keeps systems of aid under review in all member states but aids that pre-date a state's accession benefit from special rules. The Government are satisfied that the existing arrangements for the horserace betting levy are compatible with our obligations under the treaty establishing the European Community.

Horse Racing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the impact of the Horserace Betting Levy on the sale of media rights by racecourses;
	(2)  whether she has reviewed the conclusions of the regulatory impact assessment of the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004.

Richard Caborn: The regulatory impact assessment published in December 2003 to accompany the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004 contains consideration of the impact of the Horserace Betting Levy on the sale of pre-race data and television pictures by racing.
	My Department will remain mindful of the conclusions of this regulatory impact assessment in any further consideration of the future of the Levy.

Horse Racing

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when she will announce her decision on the future of the Horserace Betting Levy after 2009; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether she plans to bring forward measures to vary the provisions of the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004 as it relates to the Horserace Betting Levy.

Richard Caborn: No decision has been taken to extend the Horserace Betting Levy beyond 2009 nor to vary the provisions of the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act, although the matter is under consideration by my Department following the publication of the phase two report of the Future Funding of Racing Review Group, Chaired by Lord Donoughue of Ashton.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the value was of each IT contract awarded by her Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

David Lammy: My Department has awarded IT contracts to NCC Group and BT in the last five years. It is not possible to provide individual costs save at disproportionate costs but the aggregated cost of all such contracts over the past five years would be less then £500,000.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which IT contracts awarded by her Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

David Lammy: My Department has not abandoned any IT contracts in the past five years.

Libraries

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what percentage of public libraries were classed as of  (a) good and  (b) excellent standard in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what criteria are used to determine the quality of public libraries.

David Lammy: Different aspects of the performance of the 149 public library authorities in England have been assessed, on a different basis, for DCMS since 1998. There was no formal assessment by the Department before then.
	Though the terms "excellent" and "good" have been part of the assessments of public library authority performance carried out for DCMS, there is no direct comparison between these different types of assessments.
	Annual Library Plans were introduced in 1998 to improve the planning processes of library authorities. The scoring methodology was refined over time until they were discontinued in 2002-03 by which time 64 per cent. of authorities were producing plans that were assessed as good or excellent.
	Library position statements were introduced in 2003-04 to assess the extent to which authorities were engaging with key messages that emerged from the Framework for the Future national public library strategy document. Authorities that were assessed as "excellent" in overall Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) terms; or "excellent" in CPA "Leisure and Libraries" terms and "good" overall were exempted from having to provide position statements. Additionally, authorities assessed as having provided an excellent position statement in 2003-04 were exempted from having to produce one in 2004-05. Therefore, there is no straight read across for the two years. However, of those authorities making submissions by the end of 2004-05, 87 per cent. were assessed as having presented good or excellent position statements.
	The Public Library Standards originated in 2001-02 to introduce performance measurement for library authorities in England. They now form part of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment Culture Block. The basis of assessment for authorities' performance against the standards has evolved across the period so it is not possible to make straight comparisons. In 2004-05, authorities were assessed on the number of standards they had passed. Details of each of the 149 authorities' performance appear in the Public Library Statistics 2005-06 Estimates and 2004-05 Actuals published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Copies are held in the House Library.

Libraries

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many  (a) books,  (b) audio books,  (c) videos,  (d) computer games and  (e) DVDs were stocked in public libraries in each London borough in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many  (a) books,  (b) audio books,  (c) videos,  (d) DVDs and  (e) computer games have been lent by libraries in each London borough since 1997.

David Lammy: This information is not held centrally. However, the Public Library Statistics, published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, contain similar data to those being sought. The House of Commons Library holds copies for the period in question.

Licensing Act

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licences for public houses in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas were not renewed in each year from 1997.

Shaun Woodward: Information on the renewal of licences held by public houses in the years prior to the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 (the 2003 Act) is not held centrally. There is no renewal process for licences issued under the 2003 Act.

Licensing Act

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the likely impact of a change in the fee structure for premises licences under the Licensing Act 2003 on businesses which have already paid their renewal fees for their premises licence; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Independent Fees Review Panel, chaired by Sir Les Elton, is considering the fee levels and structure and their impact on fee payers and local authorities. We will consider carefully any recommendations that the Panel makes when it reports to Ministers in the autumn.
	We have no existing plans to change the fee structure, although we have agreed in principle that there should be a single date for the annual fee. However, before we can set a single date, we will need to consider and consult on transitional arrangements and the options for which date to adopt. Licence holders will be given notice before new arrangements are brought in and should, in the meantime, continue to pay their annual fee on the anniversary of the grant of the licence.

Licensing Act

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of premises licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 which have paid their renewal fees for their premises licence since February; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: There is no renewal process for licences issued under the Licensing Act 2003, although an annual fee is paid on the anniversary of the grant of the licence. We have not made any estimate about the number of licence holders who have paid annual fees. However, as most applications to convert licences to the new regime were made near the end of the period for converting licences in July and August last year, it is likely that the majority of annual fees will not be due until the autumn.

Licensing Act

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when the Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism last met representatives of  (a) the licensed trade,  (b) local authorities,  (c) residents' groups,  (d) magistrates,  (e) police officers,  (f) village hall associations,  (g) sports clubs,  (h) performing arts,  (i) the tourism industry,  (j) fire services and  (k) the retail sector to discuss the Licensing Act 2003 and related legislation; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Since May 2006, I have held several internal meetings on the Licensing Act and have met with the Chair of the Independent Fees review panel. I have met, along with Home Office colleagues, representatives of the licensed trade on 15 May and representatives from local authorities and the police on 24 May.
	I am planning to hold a series of stakeholder meetings in the autumn.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the monthly peak construction costs for the building of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games sites.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority is currently procuring the delivery partner that will help it to deliver the Olympic and legacy construction. One element of the delivery partner's role will be to examine the construction costs of the Olympic infrastructure. We expect this assessment to be completed within six to nine months of the appointment.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment of contamination in the Olympic Park and surrounding Lea Valley area has been undertaken; what the findings were; and what remedial action is being taken.

Richard Caborn: Initial site investigation and desk-top research work, undertaken in support of the Olympic and Legacy Planning Applications, identified some contamination within the footprint of the Olympic Park area. Much of the contaminated land is former Brownfield or derelict land that has been used for a variety of industrial activities.
	Site investigations are currently being carried out to characterise the nature of the ground conditions and the level of contamination. These investigations will be carried out in accordance with current industry best practice to identify the exact type and concentrations. The investigations are following the principles set out in the Intrusive Investigation Method Statement approved by the London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, the Environment Agency and British Waterways. Copies of the Statement have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	The boroughs have been consulted throughout the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment, during the site investigation phase and will continue to be consulted throughout the development of the remediation and validation works.
	In addition, generic site specific soil target values have been generated and are detailed in a Global Remediation Strategy which has been reviewed and approved by the same regulators noted above. Once the site investigation is complete, detailed remediation strategies, including generation of site specific clean up targets, will be prepared and agreed with the regulators as appropriate prior to implementation and validation. All of the sites to be remediated will be subject to detailed planning applications.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the cost of  (a) security during construction of the Olympic Park in each year to 2012 and  (b) security during the Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave him on 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1788W. Work continues on the evaluation of the security requirements for the various phases of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games and their cost.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she has set up a specialist unit within the Department to oversee the Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE) has been set up within DCMS under a Chief Executive, who has also been appointed as an additional Accounting Officer, to co-ordinate Government input into the 2012 Games. The Executive acts as a link between Government Departments on the one hand and LOCOG (the London Organising Committee) and the ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority) on the other. GOE works closely with all Departments to ensure a joined up approach to delivering the benefits and legacy of the 2012 Games.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) arrangements have been made and  (b) mode of transportation will be used to deliver raw materials to the Olympic Park.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) are reviewing all modes of transport for raw materials, including river and rail usage, and will work with their Delivery Partner—to be appointed later this summer—to develop proposals for an effective, affordable and sustainable approach.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with other Government Departments on co-ordinating other large construction projects during the construction of the Olympic Park; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has been a key participant in an initiative being led by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to improve the public sector's demand management in construction procurement and to enhance the UK construction industry's long term capacity planning so as to meet public sector demand and provide a healthy level of competition.
	DCMS has been working with OGC and the Public Sector Construction Clients Forum (PSCCF) in taking forward a number of strands in this initiative including a study, The 2005-15 Construction Demand/Capacity Study, to examine the industry's capacity to deliver public sector construction programmes including those for the Olympics to time, budget and the required quality, and their likely effect on other capital development programmes throughout the country.
	The study is due to be published shortly.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans there are for the use of  (a) the Olympic Stadium and  (b) other Olympic facilities after the Olympic Games have finished; and when she expects formal agreements on this to be finalised.

Tessa Jowell: Plans for the Olympic venues were set out in Theme 8 of the London 2012 Candidature File, which can be accessed on the website of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, www.london2012.com at:
	http://www.london2012.com
	Since London was awarded the Games, these plans have been under development. The timing of final decisions on legacy use will vary from venue to venue because, among other things, of differences in the construction profile but key stakeholders will be consulted as part of the planning process for the Olympic Park, before any formal agreements are finalised.

London Olympics

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans her Department has to involve women in the delivery of the 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics Games (LOCOG) are committed to diversity in the way they operate and engage with communities and groups. LOCOG, for instance, work with the Women's Resource Centre and the Women's Sports Foundation through their London 2012 Forum. My Department is working with the Department for Communities and Local Government (which has policy responsibility in Government for women's issues) to ensure that all sections of society have opportunities for involvement in the games. The Women and Equality Unit and the Equal Opportunities Commission have been involved in the development of this work and will help shape the final delivery plan. This work complements similar planning activity by the Greater London Authority to engage with a wide variety of London's diverse communities, including women.

London Olympics

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made against the objective of providing an ethical Olympic games in 2012; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic stakeholders are committed to an ethical Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 and a sustainable legacy for London and the UK. We are determined to ensure that local communities receive tangible benefit from the Games, particularly in the areas of local employment, affordable housing, training initiatives and education.
	Initiatives are already under way to realise these objectives. For example, the Olympic Delivery Authority have recently published their draft Procurement Policy, which confirms their commitment to sustainability, health and safety and partnership working.
	In addition, the London 2012 Employment and Skills Task Force (LEST), established by the Greater London Authority and the London Skills Commission, will deliver a collaborative business plan to identify and co-ordinate measures to support people in accessing direct and indirect employment opportunities arising from the hosting of the Games in 2012.

London Olympics

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what mechanisms are being put in place in the procurement process for the Olympics to ensure private companies comply with good employment practices.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is responsible for delivering the infrastructure for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, places high importance on ensuring its ethical values are shared by potential contractors. Through the tendering process the ODA and its Delivery Partner will assess the commitment of bidders to these values, including their approach to good employment practices, training, recruitment, equalities and diversity. The ODA's draft Procurement Policy, which was published on 19 July, states that it would like all employees of contractors and subcontractors working on ODA contracts to be on fair employment terms and conditions, such as the good practice guidance promulgated by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

London Olympics

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the project to bury the underground power lines at the Olympic Park; what lessons have been learned from the project; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: During the Bid period the Government and the Mayor recognised that the timescale for undergrounding the powerlines was such that serious work needed to start in November 2005 if the project was to be completed within an acceptable timescale. Work was set in hand and the London Development Agency was ready to award the contract for undergrounding after we had won the Games. They will shortly transfer the project to the Olympic Delivery Authority. The initial contracts are working well and they expect the project to be completed in line with original targets.

London Olympics

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what  (a) process and  (b) criteria the Government and Sport England will allocate funds for improving Great Britain's and Northern Ireland's potential medal performance in the 2012 Olympics between clubs and associations.

Richard Caborn: All investment in medal potential for London 2012 is channelled through UK Sport, the Government's lead agency on high performance sport. UK Sport allocates Exchequer and Lottery funding solely through its World Class Pathway programme to the National Governing Bodies for Olympic and Paralympic sport, based on a range of factors including regular assessment of athlete performance at major international competitions. It is for those Governing Bodies to determine whether funding should then be provided for high performance sport through their clubs and associations.

Ministerial Meetings

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many properties  (a) owned and  (b) managed by the National Trust (i) she, (ii) the Minister for Sport, (iii) the Minister for Culture and (iv) the Minister for Media and Tourism have visited in an official capacity in the last five years.

David Lammy: I have visited the new National Trust offices in Swindon as well as Tyntesfield, the Victorian House and estate near Bristol. My right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Minister for Sport and my hon. Friend the Minister for Media and Tourism have not yet had the opportunity to make official visits to properties owned or managed by the National Trust.

Ministerial Meetings

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last met her Scottish counterpart; and what subjects were discussed.

David Lammy: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State last met Patricia Ferguson on 2 November 2005 at Sports Cabinet. They discussed the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Glasgow's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games; Sport and Physical Activity; the Terms of Reference of the Sports Cabinet; our approach to hosting mega events; practical arrangements for future Sports Cabinet meetings; and the British Council's 'Dreams and Teams' initiative.

Ministerial Office

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many times her ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: In the last five years the ministerial office of the Secretary of State has been decorated twice—in 2002 and 2005. It will be redecorated again in the coming months as part of the refurbishment of the Department's Cockspur Street headquarters building.

Museums

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what budget has been available to museums for acquisitions in each year since 1980.

David Lammy: Museums have a number of sources of funding for acquisitions available to them. These include government funding (be it national or local), self generated income, private donations and grants available from bodies such as the Art Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. We do not keep figures on each of the different funding streams available for all museums.
	The Government do not ring-fence acquisition budgets for the cultural institutions that it sponsors. This ceased in 1992 and allows sponsored museums and galleries the freedom to choose how they spend their grant in aid. Overall grant in aid for directly sponsored national museums and galleries increased from £205.17 million in 1997-98 to £314.93 million in 2006-07.
	We are aware of concerns relating to the level of funding museums and galleries have available for acquisitions. We will continue to engage with interested groups, and are always willing to listen to their ideas with regard to acquisitions.

Museums

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the percentage of revenue savings through efficiency savings required from museums in the next financial year.

David Lammy: Museums and galleries participating in the DCMS efficiency project are required to make savings of 2.5 per cent. of their grant in aid per annum.

Museums

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the change was in funding to museums in each year since 1997  (a) without taking inflation into account and  (b) taking inflation into account.

David Lammy: Tables giving details of increases in grant in aid to 17 DCMS sponsored museums since 1997  (a) without taking inflation into account and  (b) taking inflation into account are in the following tables:
	
		
			  Table A: Grant in aid allocated to 17 DCMS sponsored museums( 1)  1997-98 to 2007-08 
			   £ million( 2)  Percentage change 
			 1997-98 205.17 — 
			 1998-99 203.46 -0.8 
			 1999-2000 218.31 +7.3 
			 2000-01 226.29 +3.7 
			 2001-02 241.46 +6.7 
			 2002-03 264.96 +9.7 
			 2003-04 275.63 +4.0 
			 2004-05 280.37 +1.7 
			 2005-06 291.99 +4.1 
			 2006-07 314.93 +7.9 
			 2007-08 335.66 +6.6 
			 (1) Covers DCMS funding allocated to 17 DCMS Sponsored museums. Excludes allocations to some smaller museums and DCMS funding streams open to museums and galleries such as Strategic Commissioning, and the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund.  (2) £ million not taking inflation into account. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Grant in aid (CiA) allocated to 17 DCMS sponsored museums( 1)  1997-98 to 2007-08 
			   £ million( 2)  Percentage change 
			 1997-98 Base — 
			 1998-99 197.75 -3.75 
			 1999-2000 207.59 +4.7 
			 2000-01 212.43 +2.3 
			 2001-02 220.88 +3.8 
			 2002-03 234.43 +5.8 
			 2003-04 237.26 +1.2 
			 2004-05 235.89 -0.6 
			 2005-06 239.63 +1.6 
			 2006-07 251.71 +4.8 
			 2007-08 261.22 +3.6 
			 (1) Covers DCMS funding allocated to 17 DCMS Sponsored museums. Excludes allocations to some smaller museums and DCMS funding streams open to museums and galleries such as Strategic Commissioning, and the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund.  (2 )£ million taking inflation into account, using 1997 as base year

Museums

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visitors to publicly-funded museums in London there were in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The number of visits to museums and galleries in London funded directly by this Department in each year since 1997 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of visits (million) 
			 1997-98 20.3 
			 1998-99 19.5 
			 1999-2000 19.2 
			 2000-01 23.7 
			 2001-02 24.4 
			 2002-03 27.0 
			 2003-04 28.3 
			 2004-05 28.5 
			 2005-06 26.8 
		
	
	We do not hold visit data on the 67 London museums which are funded by the Ministry of Defence, local authorities, universities and the Greater London authority.

Obesity

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will bring forward proposals to require seating at venues open to the public to be increased in size to accommodate obese people; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Health and Safety Executive publishes guidance on seating in The Event Safety Guide and guide to fire precautions in existing places of entertainment and like premises.
	For sports grounds, there is no standard allocation of space for a seated person. However, my Department's document Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds does provide guidance on minimum seat widths and seating row depths. The purpose of the document is to give guidance on how to calculate the safe capacity of a sports ground.
	More broadly, my Department, along with the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills, is taking joint action to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity amongst children under 11, in the context of tackling obesity in the population as a whole.

Portchester Castle

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what conditions were attached by the donor when Portchester Castle was given to the nation in 1974; and whether these conditions have been varied at any time.

David Lammy: The guardianship of Portchester Castle was given to the Commissioner for Works on 23 June 1926. No conditions were attached to this gift.
	Regulations concerning the castle have been made subsequently, most recently in 1974 by the Department of the Environment following discussions with Fareham borough council and St. Mary's Church.
	Following a direction made under section 34 of the National Heritage Act 1983, responsibility for managing the property was delegated to English Heritage.

Regal Cinema, Evesham

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on the listing of the Regal Cinema, Evesham.

David Lammy: In October 2000, the Department received two applications to list this building. It was listed at Grade II in November 2000. Between November 2001 and January 2002, we received six requests, from the same individual, to de-list it or to approve 'in principle' plans to alter its interior. These were turned down. In June 2002, we received a request to upgrade the cinema to II. This was rejected, on the advice of English Heritage, 10 September 2002.

Sport England

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many funding applications have been made to Sport England from organisations in Leicester, South constituency; and if she will provide details of each application.

Richard Caborn: Sport England does not hold information about funding applications in the required format. Over 900 applications have been made in the East Midlands region, however, information specifically about the Leicester, South constituency could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Sport England

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Sport England grants have been awarded to organisations in Leicester, South constituency; and if she will provide details of each award.

Richard Caborn: Sport England records show that, since 1995, 14 lottery grants have been awarded to organisations in the Leicester, South constituency at a total value of £6,927,625. In addition, the constituency may also have benefited from Community Club Development programme grants of £1,137,889 awarded to organisations throughout Leicestershire.
	Details of the Lottery awards are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Applicant  Purpose  Grant (£) 
			 Leicester Rowing Club Purpose built rowing centre 232,431 
			 Leicestershire county council Highfield Youth and Community Centre-new forecourt, sports hall and fitness room 1,999,000 
			 International Youth House Project Ltd Community facility incorporating a 27m x 18m sports hall 420,110 
			 Leicester City council Active sports 1,280,093 
			 Leicester City council (Lancaster school) New sports facilities 106,160 
			 Lancaster school School sport coordinator 285,265 
			 Leicester Football Club Plc Spectator safety works and upgrade of security installations 13,135 
			 Leicestershire County Cricket Club Implementation of ticket administration system; alterations to the roof of the pavilion 78,717 
			 Leicestershire County Cricket Club Safer sports ground 15,414 
			 Leicester Football Club Plc Demolition and rebuild 200,000 
			 Leicestershire County Cricket Club Safer sports ground 30,250 
			 Leicester Racial Equality council Female sports activity officer 107,050 
			 Leicester City council New sports centre 2,000,000 
			 Leicester City council Refurbishment of Saffron Lane athletic track 160,000

Sports Clubs

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) football,  (b) rugby,  (c) hockey,  (d) tennis,  (e) cricket,  (f) swimming and  (g) gymnastic clubs there were in (i) each London borough and (ii) London in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: DCMS does not hold the information requested and there is no central register for such clubs.

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by her Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005.

David Lammy: None to date.
	Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported.

Television Licences

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many households in  (a) Houghton and Washington, East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area have been in receipt of free television licences in each year since the introduction of free licences for people over 75 years.

Shaun Woodward: TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in the Houghton and Washington, East constituency in 2004-05 was 4,490, according to Department for Work and Pensions records. Winter fuel payment figures for the Sunderland city council area are not available; however, the figure in 2004-05 for the unitary authority of Sunderland was 15,330.

Television Licences

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will introduce a scheme to exempt those staying in respite care from the need to purchase a television licence in addition to the one purchased for their home.

Shaun Woodward: Television licences for respite care arise principally in relation to the Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) concessionary scheme. As part of BBC Charter Review, the Government re-examined anomalies within the existing concessionary arrangements, with a special focus on the ARC scheme. In the March 2006 White Paper, the Government acknowledged the shortcomings of the scheme but noted that proposals for change focused on individual anomalies rather than ways to improve the scheme as a whole. Previous changes to correct individual anomalies have done little to improve the scheme as a whole and have tended to create new problems. We therefore have no plans to amend the scheme, or to introduce a separate concessionary scheme for respite care accommodation.

Television Licences

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussion took place between her Department and the BBC about the decision not to renew the contract for renewal and purchase of television licences supplied at post offices.

Shaun Woodward: The award of the contract was a commercial decision for the BBC as television licensing authority. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport did not therefore have any discussions with the corporation about the substance of the decision. However, DCMS officials were briefed by the BBC prior to the corporation's announcement of the award of the contract on 31 March this year.

Ticket Touting

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what provisions were agreed at the Ticket Tout summit on 17 July regarding the charging of administration fees in relation to tickets returned to the original sellers for re-sale at face value; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: At the summit on 17 July, the industry stated their agreement to introduce a returns policy whereby fans can return tickets to the original sellers at face value. There were no specific provisions agreed around charging administrative fees in relation to these tickets. The returns policy will be implemented by the industry itself and I hope that it will take all relevant views into account, especially those of the ticket buying public, when doing this. The industry also agreed to set up a website where fans could sell tickets to other fans at face value.
	At the summit my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I also announced a future DCMS-led public consultation to establish the views of consumers and the industry on ticket sales issues. Other measures announced included further work with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on terms and conditions of ticket sales and the introduction of kite marks for ticket sales websites. The Government also pledged to continue working with the industry and OFT to draw up an overarching code of practice for both primary and secondary ticket sellers.
	Our principle in taking this forward remains that the interests of the consumers are paramount and that our creative, cultural and sporting industries should be able to prosper in a healthy legitimate market.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the tourism deficit in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The UK tourism balance of payments deficit was £18.1 million in 2005. This figure has been produced using a range of data sources including the UK Tourism Survey and the International Data Survey.
	The deficit reflects a range of factors including increased prosperity and the availability of cheap flights. The UK is by no means alone in this regard, indeed, in 2003 Germany's deficit stood at over £27 billion.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what initiatives have been put in place by her Department to increase domestic tourism visits.

Shaun Woodward: Domestic tourism represents around 80 per cent. of the turnover of the UK tourism industry. My Department funds VisitBritain to market England to the British, as advised by the England Marketing Advisory Board. £10.4 million a year in grant in aid to VisitBritain is presently allocated for this purpose.
	VisitBritain's domestic marketing activities include the EnglandNet project, which provides comprehensive destination information for both domestic and overseas visitors, with facilities for live booking of accommodation and other services using the websites of VisitBritain's commercial and public sector partners. A total of £10 million has been allocated to EnglandNet to date, including £2 million over the current Spending Review period from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	My Department also works closely with regional and local government in supporting and promoting domestic tourism, currently contributing £3.6 million a year to the Regional Development Agencies to support tourism in the regions, and £1.9 million a year to the Greater London authority to support the Mayor's statutory tourism duties.
	Support for the growth of domestic tourism is central to the consultation on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State launched on 19 July.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding her Department plans to contribute for  (a) marketing,  (b) e-tourism,  (c) improving the quality of tourism products and  (d) skills and training in connection with achieving the target of £100 billion value for tourism by 2010.

Shaun Woodward: My Department funds VisitBritain to market Britain overseas, and market England to the British and in some European territories as advised by the England Marketing Advisory Board. Grant in aid to VisitBritain under the current Spending Review is in the following table:
	
		
			   Resource  Capital  Total (£000) 
			 2005-06 49,051 300 49,351 
			 2006-07 50,051 300 50,351 
			 2007-08 50,051 300 50,351 
		
	
	My Department also currently contributes £3.6 million a year to the Regional Development Agencies' Single Pot in support of their strategic responsibilities for tourism in the regions, and £1.9 million a year to the Greater London authority to support the Mayor's statutory tourism duties.
	Marketing including the use of e-tourism, and improvements in product quality and workforce skills, are essential elements of the consultation on the Tourism Strategy for the 2012 Games, which my RHF the Secretary of State launched on 19 July. In these and other areas, VisitBritain, the development agencies, and the Authority are expected to have major roles in tourism's preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
	The effects of any new work arising from the consultation on VisitBritain's future funding levels cannot be foreseen at this stage. Levels of grant-in-aid from my Department to VisitBritain, the development agencies, and the GLA for years after 2007-08 are yet to be agreed, and are subject to the present Comprehensive Spending Review.
	The consultation also seeks views on the possible effects of the games opportunity, and of changes in statistical methodology, on my Department's strategic targets for tourism.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department provides to assist  (a) small hotels,  (b) guest houses and  (c) other tourism businesses to enhance the skills of employees.

Shaun Woodward: The Department is working closely with DFES and People 1(st) (the Sector Skills Council for the Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism industries) on a broad and ambitious skills programme.
	My predecessor chaired two Skills Summits with People 1(st) and industry representatives to develop a draft National Skills Strategy, which is based on sectoral priorities of improving retention rates and skills levels for management, chefs and customer service. Agreement of a final employer-led Strategy is planned for the winter.
	We also work closely with People 1(st) and industry to ensure full advantage is taken of wider initiatives such as Train to Gain, National Skills Academies and Skills Passports.
	Given the nature of the tourism sector and the domination of small and micro businesses, these developments will be of direct benefit to them.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Government support for the tourism industry was in 2005-06; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided support to the tourism industry via grant-in-aid to VisitBritain of £49.3 million in 2005-06. VisitBritain used this money to market and promote the UK to both the domestic and international markets.
	In addition, DCMS contributed £3.6 million to the regional development agencies' single pot in support of their strategic responsibilities for tourism in the regions.
	A further £1.9 million was allocated to the Greater London authority to support the Mayor's statutory tourism duties.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department provides to assist small tourism enterprises in the use of information technology.

Shaun Woodward: My Department does not provide direct assistance to small tourism businesses in the use of information technology. Such assistance is available to tourism and other businesses through the Small Business Service.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support her Department gives to VisitBritain for e-tourism; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: VisitBritain's e-tourism activities are supported by grant-in-aid from my Department. These activities include the EnglandNet project, to which a total of £10 million has been allocated, including £2 million over the current spending review period from 2005-06 to 2007-08.
	The EnglandNet portal is administered by VisitBritain and fully supported by the regional development agencies, which are providing partnership funding from 2005-06. EnglandNet provides comprehensive destination information for overseas and domestic visitors, with facilities for instant booking of accommodation and other services using the websites of VisitBritain's commercial and public sector partners. The portal took its first live booking in December 2005.

Tourism

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's planned expenditure is on the tourism sector outside London in each of the next three years.

Shaun Woodward: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provides support to the tourism industry via grant-in-aid to VisitBritian (VB). VisitBritian uses this money to market and promote the UK to both the domestic and international markets.
	The level of grant-in-aid for VB agreed as part of the 2004 Spending Review was as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Resource  Capital  Total 
			 2005-06 49,051 300 49,351 
			 2006-07 50,051 300 50,351 
			 2007-08 50,051 300 50,351 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide details of VB's grant-in-aid beyond 2007-08, this will be decided following the completion of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.
	In addition, my Department contributes £3.6 million per year to the Regional Development Agencies' Single Pot in respect of their tourism role.

Tourism

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists visited  (a) London and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Shaun Woodward: The tables set out the number of visits to London from (i) overseas and (ii) the UK where this included an overnight stay. Information is provided for 2000 to 2005, equivalent data prior to this are not available.
	
		
			  Inbound visits to London by year 
			   Visit (all) (Thousand) 
			 2000 13,145 
			 2001 11,452 
			 2002 11,603 
			 2003 11,696 
			 2004 13,398 
			 2005 (1)13,893 
			 (1) 2005 data are provisional.  Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS). 
		
	
	
		
			  Domestic overnight trips to London by year 
			   Visit (all) (Thousand) 
			 2000 18,500 
			 2001 16,900 
			 2002 16,100 
			 2003 14,300 
			 2004 (1)12,800 
			 2005 (2)10,700 
			 (1) VisitBritain believes the old UKTS methodology significantly underreported 2004. (2) In 2005 an improved methodology was introduced for UKTS therefore direct comparison with previous years is not appropriate.  Source: UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards). 
		
	
	In addition, London receives a substantial number of day visitors, the last Leisure Day Visitors Survey in 2002-03 recorded a total of 169 million to the region.
	My Department does not have details of tourist visits to each London borough.

TV Transmitters

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) television transmitters and  (b) relay stations there are in (i) Ceredigion, (ii) Wales and (iii) the UK.

Shaun Woodward: Ceredigion has one transmitter and 13 relays. The main transmitter is at Blaen Plwyf.
	In Wales there are seven transmitters and 202 relays and in the UK there are 51 transmitters and 1,105 relays.

UK School Games

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what part volunteers will play in the running of the 2006 UK School Games in Glasgow;
	(2)  if she will list the applicants who submitted tenders to run the UK School Games for 2007 to 2011; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  whether the Youth Sports Trust has subcontracted any part of the running of the UK School Games for 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The selection of an operator to organise the UK School Games for 2006 and for 2007-11, and the subsequent grant of National Lottery money was a matter for the Millennium Commission. In my capacity as Chair of the Commission, I will write to the hon. Gentleman on this matter and arrange for copies of my reply to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Visitor Attractions

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the number of visitors to  (a) the Avebury monuments,  (b) Bowood House,  (c) Corsham Court,  (d) Lacock Abbey,  (e) Iford Manor,  (f) Longleat,  (g) Stourhead,  (h) Old Wardour Castle and  (i) Silbury Hill in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: The Department does not hold estimates of the number of visitors to Bowood House, Corsham Court, Lacock Abbey, Iford Manor, Longleat or Stourhead.
	The Avebury Monuments, including Silbury Hill, have free access and it is difficult to gain an accurate estimate of the number of visitors due to the nature of the site. A survey held by Bournemouth University in 1996-1998 gave an approximate figure of 350,000 a year. Data for 1999-2000, give an annual figure of 342,000 and 276,600 for the year 2004-05.
	Visitor figures for the English Heritage property of Old Wardour Castle is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 1996-97 28,051 
			 1997-98 24,838 
			 1998-99 23,345 
			 1999-2000 28,375 
			 2000-01 19,863 
			 2001-02 22,084 
			 2002-03 28,375 
			 2003-04 32,011 
			 2004-05 29,380 
			 2005-06 26,470

Wembley Stadium

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the Brent economy when Wembley Stadium opens.

Richard Caborn: It is estimated that when the Wembley Stadium opens it will attract around 2.5 million visitors a year, bringing an estimated annual visitor spend of £229 million to Wembley and the surrounding area. Around 7,500 permanent job opportunities will be created by economic activity directly related to the stadium.
	The stadium development has also acted as a catalyst for investment in the wider regeneration of Wembley. An improved transport system, new shops, new leisure and community facilities, thousands of new jobs and 8,500 new homes will all help to bring a major boost to the Brent economy.

Youth Charter Organisation

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many applications for lottery funding have been made by the Youth Charter organisation in the past five years; and how many such applications have been  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful.

Richard Caborn: There has been one award to the Youth Charter for Sport, Culture and the Arts. This was awarded by Sport England in May 2005. The Department does not collect information about unsuccessful lottery applications.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what advertising campaigns her Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Patrick McFadden: Significant advertising campaigns in support of specific policies are managed centrally through Cabinet Office Communication Group and placed through the Central Office of Information (COI).
	Details of advertising costs are shown in the table which reflects expenditure for financial years 2000-01 to 2003-04.
	Cabinet Office systems are not sufficiently structured to provide accurate Cabinet Office recruitment advertising information prior to 1 April 2004.
	Cabinet Office is also responsible for the advertising and filling of Fast Stream vacancies across the civil service, the advertising data for this are only available from 2001.
	
		
			   Dates  Budget/spend 
			  2000-01   
			 Chartermark March 2001 34,996 
			
			  2001-02   
			 UK-Online November 2001- January 2002 2,491,500 
			 Foot and Mouth Teletext October 2001 48,263 
			 Fast Stream Recruitment Throughout year 104,000 
			
			  2002-03   
			 Fast Stream Recruitment Throughout year 89,000 
			
			  2003-04   
			 UK online "Get Started" May-June 1,000,000 
			 Fast Stream Recruitment Throughout year 67,000

Cabinet Office Spending

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much the Cabinet Office spent on supporting the Prime Minister in each year since 1996-97, including the estimated figures for 2005-06.

Hilary Armstrong: Supporting the Prime Minster is one of the Cabinet Office's objectives. The costs associated with this function are identified and reported separately in the Annual Report and Resource Accounts.
	Details of these costs for 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts, Schedule 5, Objective 1—Supporting the Prime Minister (HC185—Page 26, HC1190—Page 32, and HC372—Page 28 respectively).
	Copies of these reports and resource accounts for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are available on the Cabinet Office website at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/annualreport/index.asp and are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	The Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts for 2005-06 were laid before Parliament on 20 July 2006 and will be published shortly on the Cabinet Office website.
	Expenditure incurred on supporting the Prime Minister, prior to 2002-03, is not held centrally.

Computing Equipment

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  how many  (a) laptop and  (b) desk top computers were purchased for use in 10 Downing Street in each month since March 2005;
	(2)  how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs and  (d) external computer hard drives were purchased for use in 10 Downing Street in each month since March 2005;
	(3)  how many  (a) USB (i) flash drives and (ii) memory sticks,  (b) compact discs,  (c) DVD-ROM discs,  (d) laptop computers,  (e) external computer hard drives and  (f) desktop computers were purchased for use in the Cabinet Office in each month since March 2005.

Patrick McFadden: The Prime Minister's office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office
	The numbers of items of the specified computer equipment purchased for use in the Cabinet Office in each month since March 2005 are shown in the table. It has been compiled from records held by those business units who have, according to our resource accounting system, purchased relevant equipment during the period.
	
		
			   USB flash drive  USB memory stick  Compact disc drive  DVD-ROM disc drive  Laptop computer  External computer hard drive  Desktop computer 
			  2005
			 March 0 0 0 0 2 0 32 
			 April 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 2 10 14 
			 July 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 August 3 0 0 0 21 0 0 
			 September 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
			 October 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 November 0 1 0 1 0 7 1 
			 December 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 
			  2006
			 January 0 0 1 2 27 6 53 
			 February 5 18 0 0 0 6 0 
			 March 0 0 0 0 6 2 9 
			 April 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 May 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 
			 June 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 
		
	
	A significant proportion of the information technology equipment used by the Department, for example on the corporate IT network, is not purchased but provided as part of a managed service through our prime IT contractor.

Ministerial Financial Benefit Declarations

John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Cabinet Office issues to Government Ministers on declaring to HM Revenue and Customs financial benefits  (a) Ministers and  (b) their spouses have received from foreign persons or foreign corporations directly or indirectly as a result of their Ministerial position.

Hilary Armstrong: Guidance for Ministers on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality is set out in Section 5 of the "Ministerial Code".

Ministerial Offices

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many times her ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

Hilary Armstrong: According to available records, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's Ministerial Office, Private Offices and waiting area has been decorated once in the last five years.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many non-departmental public bodies have been abolished since December 2005; and what estimate she has made of the consequent effect on public funds.

Patrick McFadden: Information on public bodies sponsored by central Government is provided annually in the Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies" which records information as at 31 March each year. This includes details of closed bodies and also government funding and expenditure.
	Information for the position at 31 March 2006 is currently being collated and will be published shortly. Information for the position at 31 March 2005 was published on 21 November 2005.
	Copies of previous publications are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what guidance she has issued to departments on the publication of work preliminary to the conduct of regulatory impact assessments;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1826W, on regulatory impact assessments, whether any work preparatory to the conduct of such an assessment may be  (a) placed in the Library and  (b) published by Departments.

Patrick McFadden: The Cabinet Office's guidance makes clear that final regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) should be made available to the House and published by Departments on their websites. Partial RIAs should also be published by departments as part of formal consultation exercises. The publication of initial RIAs and other work preparatory to the production of partial and final RIAs is for individual Departments to consider on a case by case basis.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are to undertake a review of Afghanistan  (a) development needs and  (b) the progress of international reconstruction projects.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government of Afghanistan have been leading the process to develop a national development strategy to tackle the country's reconstruction and development needs. In January at the London Conference, an interim strategy was launched and endorsed by the international community. Building on this effort, donors are now supporting the Government to prepare a final Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS), which will review needs in eight priority sectors: infrastructure, security, governance, education, health, agriculture and rural livelihoods, economic governance and private sector development, and social protection; as well as on important cross-cutting issues such as counter-narcotics and gender.
	Progress of the international reconstruction effort is reviewed though a number of mechanisms. Donors will monitor progress of their own projects, and occasionally there may be joint reviews (such as the recently undertaken joint donor review for the National Solidarity Programme). Government Ministries work with donors to identify duplication and gaps in their sectors, and will draw up plans to feed into the ANDS. The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) Performance Assessment Matrix will also allow for joint monitoring of development impact, once it is formally launched later this year.

Afghanistan

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the remit is of her Department's team of officials involved with the Poppy Elimination programme in Helmand Province; what their responsibilities are; and what their budget is.

Kim Howells: The UK is spending £270 million over three years in support of the Afghan national drug control strategy. As part of this we have provided £276,000 in support of the Ministry of Counter Narcotics' Poppy Elimination programme. The Poppy Elimination programme is a year-round programme operating in seven priority provinces including Helmand. It has been designed to assist provincial authorities deter poppy crop planting through public awareness and community outreach. The Poppy Elimination programme teams are also responsible for monitoring poppy cultivation, farmers' planting intentions and the existence and effectiveness of licit rural development assistance. There are normally seven Afghan members of staff (who are employed by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics) and two international advisers in each Poppy Elimination programme team. Members of our embassy drugs team in Kabul have regular and frequent contact with members of the Poppy Elimination programme teams.

China

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to her Chinese counterparts on the human rights situation in that country.

Ian McCartney: The Government regularly raises human rights issues with the Chinese Government, through ministerial and official contacts, our bilateral Human Rights Dialogue and EU mechanisms. During my visit to China from 14-17 July, I urged the Chinese Government to make early progress towards ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and raised concern about restrictions on freedom of expression, including on the internet and the movement and reporting of journalists. A range of human rights issues, including individual cases, were discussed in depth at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 3 July.

China

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports she has received on human rights violations against practitioners of Falun Gong in China.

Ian McCartney: The Government regularly raises with the Chinese Government reports of the harassment and arbitrary detention of Falun Gong practitioners, most recently at the last round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue on 3 July. The Government are aware of media reports of widespread organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China, and a report by a former Canadian Cabinet Minister which supports these allegations. We have seen no further evidence to date to substantiate these reports. We will continue to raise our concerns about human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners.

China

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to promote human rights observance in China.

Ian McCartney: The Government regularly encourages the Chinese Government to improve its observance of human rights, through ministerial engagement, the UK-China human rights dialogue and EU mechanisms. The Government also funds a number of projects in China to improve human rights observance on the ground. These are detailed in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) annual human rights report available on the FCO website at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/HumanRights2005.pdf. Our considered view is that a process of critical dialogue is the most effective way of achieving long-term improvements in the field of human rights. I raised human rights issues with the Chinese Government during my recent visit to China. We shall continue to take every appropriate opportunity to raise our concerns about human rights with China.

Correspondence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average cost to her Department was of replying to a letter written  (a) by an hon. Member and  (b) by a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available, broken down into (i) officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs.

Geoff Hoon: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to hon. Members/Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006 (col. 76ws-78ws).
	The information requested is not recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Drugs Trade

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2002,  Official Report, column 625, on the drugs trade, when she will place in the Library the details of the Afghan poppy eradication programme, maps and a video.

Kim Howells: I apologise that we have, to date, been unable to locate the material to which my hon. Friend refers. As my hon. Friend will know, officials are in the process of searching archived records from 2002 and will provide any relevant material as soon as they are able.

East Timor

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will place in the Library a copy of the reply the Prime Minister sent to the letter dated 10 March sent by the International Press Institute on the killings of journalists in East Timor.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 17 July 2006
	Yes. The letter officials sent to the International Press Institute on 4 July, in response to their letter of 10 March, will be placed in the Library of the House. I will also arrange for a copy of the letter to be sent to my right. hon. Friend.

East Timor

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 931W, on East Timor, what assessment she has made of whether acts of violence in Timor-Leste in 1999  (a) constituted crimes against humanity,  (b) were planned by the Indonesian military and  (c) were undertaken in opposition to the US mission sanctioned by Indonesia.

Ian McCartney: We have no record of any independent detailed assessment of these issues. However, the UN-established serious crimes unit was mandated to investigate crimes against humanity and other serious crimes committed in East Timor in 1999 and issued a number of indictments against people who were serving in the Indonesian military at that time. A parallel process, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) was set up by East Timor to look at less serious offences. The CAVR report found that human rights abuses were committed by Indonesian security forces. These human rights abuses were clearly contrary to the aims of the UN Mission to East Timor.

East Timor

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 863W, on East Timor, what assessment she has made of the role of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR); if she will encourage the Security Council to take CAVR's findings into consideration; what assessment she has made of the competence of the Joint Indonesian and Timor-Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship to investigate acts of violence in Timor-Leste  (a) in 1999 and  (b) before 1999; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We recognise the important work done by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation to promote reconciliation in East Timor, both through its Community Reconciliation Process—whereby those responsible for less serious crimes made amends for their actions outside the formal judicial system, supporting grassroots reconciliation—and through its attempts to determine the truth about human rights violations from 1974-1999. It is for the UN Secretary-General to decide whether to disseminate the Commission's report within the UN, including in the Security Council. The Commission for Truth and Friendship was set up by the Governments of East Timor and Indonesia specifically to look at the events surrounding the 1999 referendum. It commenced work in August 2005, for a period of one year and an extension has recently been announced until at least May next year. The central element to the Commission's work is truth and reconciliation rather than seeking to bring the perpetrators of human rights violations to court.
	The members of the Commission are all well-respected in the field of human rights law and are widely considered to be competent for the work of the Commission.

Human Rights (Tibet)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of China on the protection of human rights in Tibet.

Ian McCartney: I would like to apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in replying.
	We regularly raise human rights issues, including Tibet, with the Chinese Government. I raised human rights in Tibet during my visit to China this month. Tibet was discussed at the EU-China human rights dialogue in May and the UK-China human rights dialogue on 3 July, including individual cases of concern. EU representatives in Beijing raised reports of violent handling of a protest at Drepung Monastery with the Chinese Government in December 2005. We will continue to raise concerns about human rights abuses in Tibet at every appropriate opportunity.

India

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she plans to have with her counterpart in India about whether there are any security lessons that the UK can learn from the recent bombings in Mumbai, India.

Kim Howells: I would expect future discussions with Indian Ministers to include terrorism and the implications of the Mumbai bombings. UK officials here and in India have been in detailed discussions with the Indian authorities following the bombings and are considering what lessons we need to draw from these attacks. The authorities in India are still conducting their investigations.

India

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) discussions between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Mamnohan Singh of India regarding giving India access to US nuclear technology and  (b) the implications of those discussions for (i) the non-proliferation treaty and (ii) regional stability.

Kim Howells: We believe the agreement between the US and India on nuclear arrangements can make a significant contribution to energy security, development, economic and environmental objectives for India and the international community, as well as representing a net gain for the non-proliferation regime. The UK has strongly supported this initiative from its inception and has been actively involved throughout.
	We also believe that the initiative can have a positive impact on the broader nuclear non-proliferation framework, of which the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone. We do not believe the agreement will have a direct impact upon the NPT. We remain committed to the objective of universal NPT adherence.
	India has undertaken for the first time to put a large proportion of its nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, including all future civilian reactors, to sign an additional protocol with the IAEA, to adhere to the guidelines of the missile technology control regime and the nuclear suppliers group, to continue its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing, and to work with the US for a multilateral fissile material cut off treaty. Implementation of these commitments will bring India further into, and thereby strengthen, the broader nuclear non-proliferation framework, which is underpinned by the NPT. We judge that these steps will enhance regional stability.

Khmer Insurgents (British Training)

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs further to the letter of 23 December 2005, (your ref: 967/05: Freedom of Information), promising a response as a matter of urgency to the letter from the hon. Member for Sunderland South of 25 November 2005, on British training of Khmer insurgents in the 1980s, when she expects to reply.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is conducting an internal review of its handling of my hon. Friend's Freedom of Information request and hopes to provide a substantive response within one month.

Libya

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what agreements were reached during recent discussions between the Government and the Libyan Government.

Kim Howells: I visited Libya from 25-27 June and met the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Ministers for Justice, Training and Employment, Economic Co-operation, and Europe. Our discussions covered bilateral relations, co-operation on counter terrorism, education and training, human rights, migration, and trade and investment. I raised the case of WPC Fletcher and also the Bulgarian and Palestinian medical staff and the HIV crisis in Benghazi. We shared views on regional issues, including Darfur.
	I met again with the Libyan Minister for Europe in London on 17 July. During the visit I signed on behalf of the UK the 'Joint Letter on Peace and Security', a copy of which has been circulated in the United Nations Security Council. I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House and also for a copy of the 'Joint Letter on Peace and Security', to be sent to the hon. Member. The UK's discussions with the Libyan Government are ongoing.

North Korea

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government supports Japan's proposed freeze on North Korean assets held overseas following recent missile tests.

Ian McCartney: On 15 July, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1695. This requires UN member states to prevent missile and missile-related items, materials, goods and technology being transferred to or from the North Korean missile or weapons of mass destruction programmes, and prevent the transfer of any financial resources in relation to those programmes. The UK will implement this resolution in full, and expects others to do the same. It is entirely understandable that those in the region most immediately threatened by North Korea's actions might wish to consider additional measures of the sort in mind in Japan.

North Korea

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK Government made to support the UN resolution criticizing North Korea's recent missile tests proposed by the UN ambassador from Japan.

Ian McCartney: The UK strongly agreed that the UN Security Council should respond urgently and robustly to North Korea's missile tests of 5 July. We therefore worked closely with Japan and other Security Council partners on the draft resolution. Security Council Resolution 1695, which was unanimously adopted by the Security Council on 15 July, condemns North Korean behaviour and requires them to suspend missile testing, re-establish their moratorium on tests, and return immediately, without pre-conditions, to the six party talks on their nuclear weapons programmes. We have urged the North Koreans to comply with these requirements and hope they will do so without delay.

Parliamentary Questions

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many parliamentary questions tabled to her Department were awaiting a reply on 10 July 2006; which of those had been waiting longer than  (a) two and  (b) three weeks for a reply; and what the reason for the delay was in each case.

Geoff Hoon: There were 113 parliamentary questions tabled to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) awaiting reply at the end of 10 July 2006. Of those, 12 had been waiting more than two weeks and up to three weeks for a reply and 16 had been waiting longer than three weeks for a reply.
	The reasons for delay can be categorised as follows:
	Sixteen of the questions required additional information/input from FCO officials in the UK and overseas before they could be answered;
	Twelve of the questions were awaiting ministerial clearance. In many cases the delay was due to heavy travel commitments by Ministers.
	The FCO places great importance on parliamentary questions and undertakes to answer all questions promptly. FCO Ministers and officials endeavour to answer named day questions on the allocated day and ordinary written questions within one week. Since October 2005, the FCO has answered 80 per cent. of ordinary written questions and 78 per cent. of named day questions on time.

Somalia

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the political situation in Somalia.

Ian McCartney: The Government are concerned at the recent violence in Somalia. We condemn it and urge all parties within, and outside, Somalia not to take any action which might perpetuate or provoke further violence, endanger the fragile cease-fire agreed between the Transitional Federal government and the Islamic Courts in Khartoum on 22 June, threaten the progress of dialogue between the parties in Somalia or damage the already dire humanitarian situation there. We promote dialogue, not confrontation. There are no military solutions to Somalia's problems.
	The UK welcomes the United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement issued on Thursday 13 July 2006. As it states, support for the Transitional Federal Institutions as the route to restore peace and security to Somalia, broad-based and inclusive dialogue and compliance with the UN Arms Embargo on Somalia should represent the cornerstones of the international community's Somalia policy. The full text of the statement can be found on the UN website at:
	http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8773.doc.htm

Southern Iraq Donor Group

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the  (a) remit and  (b) membership is of the Southern Iraq Donor Group; how often it meets; what its goals are; how its performance is measured; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: I have been asked to reply.
	The Southern Iraq Donor Group's (SIDG) goal is to improve the co-ordination of donors in the region and to create the necessary relationships to ensure good communication.
	SIDG meets in Basra once or twice a month. The meetings are co-ordinated and chaired by the United Nations. Although no fixed membership exists, most of the international actors in Southern Iraq—both military and civilian—attend the meetings including, for example, the US State Department, the United States agency for International Development (USAID), Multi-National Division (South East), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), the US Military Corps of Engineers and the Danish Office. Not only is DFID one of the founders of the group, but it remains a member.
	The outcomes of workshops, implications of policy decisions and the impact of visits to Basra are all discussed, as well as any future joint projects and workshops that donors agree on.
	As for the performance of the SIDG, there is consensus among participants that it has been very effective in bringing donors together and has improved co-ordination both of programmes and communications.

Timor-Leste

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Ann Clwyd) of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 315W, on East Timor, in what ways the joint UK-Australian police training initiative will augment past UN police training of forces in Timor-Leste; and what measures are in place to ensure integration of the UK-Australian initiative with the existing UN operation in Timor-Leste.

Ian McCartney: The UK-Australian Timor-Leste Police Development programme (TLPDP) has been running since July 2004. The programme is designed to strengthen the capacity of the East Timorese police service to maintain law and order effectively and professionally with full respect for human rights. The TLPDP complements other past and current police training undertaken by the UN and bilaterally. The programme has had a number of successes, including the design of a new curriculum at the police academy to incorporate human rights materials throughout. It produced its first batch of East Timorese trainers in November 2005, who were able to graduate their first basic recruit course of 260 new personnel earlier this year. The TLPDP recently received a favourable mention in the 2006 human rights watch report. Discussions have been held with the UN assessment team to look at how the work of TLPDP might complement that of the new UN policing activity in East Timor.

UN Human Rights Council

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on the recent decision by the new UN Human Rights Council to send a fact-finding mission to the Palestinian Territories; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: At the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 17 July, EU Foreign Ministers expressed their support for the efforts of the UN Secretary General. We welcome the UN's fact finding visit to the Occupied Territories.

US Department of Justice

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings  (a) she and  (b) her officials have had with representatives of the United States' Department of Justice in the last 12 months.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any meetings with representatives of the United States Department of Justice since taking up office. Officials from our embassy in Washington meet regularly with representatives of the United States Department of Justice. Most recently, they accompanied my noble Friend the Minister of State for Criminal Justice and Offender Management, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, on calls on representatives of the Department during her visit to Washington on 13 and 14 July.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what advertising campaigns the Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Gareth Thomas: DFID did not have any major advertising campaigns during this period, and any activities which might be categorised as advertising were not disaggregated from programme activity and spend across DFID during this period. To undertake information gathering to separate out such costs would incur disproportionate costs. The main advertising costs incurred during this period were for recruitment advertising and is listed as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Spend (£) 
			 2000-01 751,972 
			 2001-02 1,208,192 
			 2002-03 914,571 
			 2003-04 849,196

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 July, 2006,  Official Report, columns 1404-0W, on Afghanistan, what the job description is for each of the roles listed.

Hilary Benn: DFID has 16 UK officials currently based in Afghanistan. 14 are based in Kabul, one in Badakhshan and one in Helmand. Job descriptions for these posts are as follows:
	 Head of DFID Afghanistan
	Overall financial, policy, programme, management, and security responsibility for DFID programme and staff in Afghanistan.
	 Deputy Head
	Provides the full range of support to the Head of Department, including acting as Head during the Head of Department's absence. Specific responsibility for policy, programme and strategy issues and leadership of team responsible for briefing and liaison with other Government Departments.
	 Economic Programme Manager
	Leads on the policy, planning and implementation of Economic Management and Aid Effectiveness team objectives. This includes strengthening donor co-ordination and harmonisation in Afghanistan; contributing to discussions on key issues affecting the economic management reform agenda; management of technical assistance to Ministries of Finance; and overseeing and managing the design and implementation of the team project portfolio, which focuses on aid channelled through the Government budget.
	 Programme and Strategy Co-ordinator
	Provides support to the Head of Office in the co-ordination and direction of DFID's overall programme of support to the Government of Afghanistan. Duties include the development and communication of policy and strategy; building and strengthening partnerships between DFID Afghanistan and other donors; and effective support to Ministers and Senior Officials on programme-wide issues.
	 Policy and Programme and Strategy Programme Officer
	Provides support, guidance and mentoring to local programme staff to build capacity in effective project/programme cycle management. Provide responses to general public inquiries, freedom of information requests, parliamentary questions and ministerial correspondence. Supports the development and implementation of DFID's communication strategy. Maintains an accurate financial overview of the DFID programme, and provides some administrative assistance to the Head of Office.
	 Livelihoods Programme Manager
	Leads on policy, planning and implementation of the Livelihoods work programme. Main duties include ensuring the livelihoods programme contributes effectively to delivery of DFID's strategy in Afghanistan; development of priority planned new activities in the Livelihoods portfolio; and engagement with other donors and the Afghanistan Government on strengthening the policy and planning environment for broad livelihoods work. Also the security officer for DFID.
	 Livelihoods Adviser
	Contributes to the development of nationally-owned strategies and programmes addressing rural livelihoods in Afghanistan; monitors DFID interventions in rural livelihoods through participating in programme/project committees; and prepares briefings on livelihood issues and DFID progress for UK Ministers and senior officials.
	 State Building Programme Manager
	Leads on the policy, planning and implementation of the state building team and its programme. This includes DFID's contribution to key issues affecting the public administration reform and security sector reform agenda. Also oversees the office finances and imprest account.
	 Conflict Adviser
	Works within the state building team on design and implementation of security sector reform policy and programming. Key duties include providing effective support on policy and programmes relating to security and development issues; building relationships with international donors, Provincial Reconstruction Teams and the military in order to build a more coordinated and coherent response in area of security and development; providing effective advice and leadership on the strategic direction of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool for Afghanistan in partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD); and maintaining responsibility for building awareness and communication on issues of civil-military coordination.
	 Deputy Programme Manager, State Building
	Responsible for ensuring effective project/programme cycle management in line with DFID procedures and good practice; supporting the team leader in policy dialogue and formulation, particularly in the area of public administration reform and provincial stabilisation; providing responses to requests for briefing and parliamentary questions; and composing reports on different aspects of the team's programme.
	 Office/HR Manager
	Lead responsibility for HR issues including posting and promotion, external recruitment and staff development. Responsibility for the day-to-day running of the office, and ensuring the administration team has effective systems in place to meet corporate rules and regulations. Lead responsibility for administration budget, forecasting, further development of financial management and responsibility for asset management.
	 Deputy Office Manager
	Supports the office manager to ensure effective day-to-day running of the office and guest houses. Responsible for financial monitoring of the administration budget; ensuring delivery of all basic office services including logistics for all visitors for which DFID have duty of care; ensuring vehicle fleet is managed effectively; and monitoring of health and safety procedures.
	 Secondee to the British Embassy Drugs Team
	DFID representative in the British Embassy Drugs Team, with a particular responsibility for advising on development and rural livelihoods issues.
	 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Development Adviser
	Provides advice to the Commander of ISAF, the ISAF Command Group and HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Core (ARRC)/ISAF planning staff regarding the impact of military activities on development and humanitarian issues. Also responsible for liaising with NATO member states regarding current development and humanitarian priorities to ensure coherence of HQ ARRC/ISAF strategy and planning; Badakhshan.
	 Development Adviser
	Located in a multi-donor mission in Faizerbad, concentrating on sub-national governance reform work, development coordination with provincial authorities and ensuring that national programmes can be rolled out and implemented at a provincial level. Currently in Kabul awaiting deployment.
	 Helmand Development Adviser
	Located in the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), helping develop, maintain and articulate a strategic vision and operational work plan for the PRT including how DFID can best contribute to provincial stabilisation in the south.

Afghanistan

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  how much was paid by the Government in compensation to farmers in Afghanistan for voluntary opium poppy eradication in  (a) 2002,  (b) 2003,  (c) 2004 and  (d) 2005;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of farmers in Afghanistan who were entitled to compensation from the UK Government for voluntary opium poppy eradication but did not receive it in  (a) 2002,  (b) 2003,  (c) 2004 and  (d) 2005.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government provided £21.25 million in support of the Afghan Interim Administration's 2002 compensated eradication programme. Eradication in 2003, 2004 and 2005 was not compensated and compensated eradication does not form part of the present Afghan Government's National Drug Control Strategy.
	The Afghan Government considered it appropriate to compensate farmers for eradication in 2002 because the 2002 crop was planted before the current regime came to power. We provided support because we believed it was important to support a new regime determined to take tough decisions to tackle drugs. However, it was the responsibility of the Afghan authorities to implement the programme and to ensure that compensation payments were made. We understand from the Afghan authorities that a total of 17,000 hectares of poppy was eradicated under the 2002 programme. The number of farmers compensated is a matter for the Government of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on  (a) opium poppy eradication and  (b) rural development in Afghanistan in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2004, (iv) 2005 and (v) 2006.

Hilary Benn: The information is as follows.
	 Spending on opium poppy eradication
	None of the UK spending for opium poppy eradication comes from DFID's budget. In 2002, the UK provided financial assistance worth £21.25 million to support the new regime's compensated eradication programme. The programme was led by the Afghan Transitional Authority who considered it appropriate to offer a one-off programme of payments to opium farmers on the basis that the poppy crop had been planted during the Taliban regime, before the current regime came to power.
	Over financial years 2003-04 and 2004-06, the UK allocated the following amounts to support the Government of Afghanistan carry out poppy eradication in Afghanistan:
	
		
			  Financial year  Eradication (£ million) 
			 2003-04 1.33 
			 2004-05 2.25 
			 2005-06 5.71 
		
	
	 Spending on rural development
	The opium economy is a major threat to the prospects for stability, peace and sustainable poverty reduction in Afghanistan. DFID has therefore increased its livelihoods programme significantly in recent years, supporting the Government of Afghanistan to develop the legal economy, and creating sustainable employment opportunities for poor people who currently rely on the illegal opium trade for their income. Since 2002, DFID has spent the following amount on improving rural livelihoods in Afghanistan.
	
		
			  Financial year  Rural development (£ million) 
			 2002-03 0.3 
			 2003-04 6.3 
			 2004-05 7.8 
			 2005-06 45

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects are being funded by his Department in Helmand province; and how much is being spent on each project.

Hilary Benn: During my recent visit to Helmand, I announced a £30 million Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme. This aims to increase economic opportunities for the rural poor of Helmand. It will support the Government of Afghanistan to roll out existing successful National Programmes in Helmand. These programmes will provide improved water and sanitation, essential small scale rural infrastructure, greater access to small loans, improved roads and access to markets and agricultural inputs and training to the people of Helmand. The programme will be implemented over three years.
	DFID also has a £1 million project to deliver quick impact activities. Sub-projects under this include encouraging confidence in Government amongst local people, improving security for schools, improving drinking water and sanitation, and road building. £113,895 of the £1 million has been formally committed, and £71,166 spent. A project list is attached. £400,000 more of sub-projects are currently under consideration.
	
		
			  Project  Start day in May 2006  Total cost (£)  Amount paid to date (£) 
			 Rehabilitation of the a shrine: construction of wall and gate 15 11,968 4,778 
			 Rehabilitation of area adjoining shrine of road and footpath 15 18,149 7,222 
			 Improving a Friday market and construction of protection wall 15 67,871 47,472 
			 Improving a Friday market 15 14,018 9,806 
			 Disbursement of food aid provided by Government of Afghanistan 18 1,889 1,889 
			 Total  113,895 71,166 
		
	
	Of the projects currently committed, the shrine, surrounding area and the market place respond directly to requests from the local population. The shrine is a popular meeting point attracting hundreds of visitors from around the province. The adjoining area is especially popular with women who come to walk there with their children. All the rehabilitation projects listed were carried out by an Afghan NGO to ensure cultural sensitivity in delivery. Initial feedback on the rehabilitation suggests that this work has been well received.
	DFID has committed a further £3 million to the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) for military managed activities.

AIDS/ Tuberculosis /Malaria Global Fund

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the progress of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Gareth Thomas: The mid-term review of the first replenishment of the Global Fund took place on 4-6 July. The review highlighted that the Global Fund is demonstrating significant progress against key targets, is improving grant performance, especially in weak systems and fragile states, and is implementing the recommendations of the Global Task Team on improving AIDS co-ordination among multilateral institutions and international donors.
	To date, a total of US $8.9 billion has been pledged and/or contributed to the Global Fund through to 2008. As of 1 June 2006, the Global Fund had approved a total of US $5.4 billion to nearly 400 grants in 131 countries. Of the US $5.4 billion approved, US $2.3 billion has been disbursed to public and private recipients in 127 countries and to date, 89 per cent. of approved grants have signed grant agreements. Results achieved so far include:
	544,000 people on antiretroviral treatment
	1.43 million received tuberculosis treatment
	11.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets distributed
	7.3 million people treated for malaria
	5.7 million people received HIV counselling and testing
	560,000 orphans provided with basic care and support.
	However, the Global Fund continues to face many challenges, including aligning its programs with country priorities and planning processes, and generating sufficient long-term resources from a more diverse donor base to meet its future needs.
	The Global Fund's revised resource needs for 2006 and 2007 is US $5.5 billion. There is a current funding gap of US $2.1 billion for this period, of which, US $0.7 billion is needed to fund round 6 of new grants that will be approved in November 2006.

Angola

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the government of Angola concerning its request for a post conflict donor conference; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave on 3 November 2005,  Official Report, column 1292W.
	DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are keen to improve dialogue between the Government of Angola, donors and investors in the country. We are working closely with other bilateral donors and the World Bank to create a Forum for Development and Investment, aimed at improving the harmonisation of reconstruction efforts in Angola. We are following up this issue with the Government of Angola.

Argentina

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether the Department funds projects in Argentina to tackle  (a) trafficking in people and  (b) the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development is not funding any projects in Argentina to tackle trafficking in people or the commercial exploitation of children.

Cholera

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment his Department has made of outbreaks of cholera in  (a) Southern Sudan and  (b) Southern Africa.

Hilary Benn: In South Sudan, an ongoing cholera epidemic has resulted in 16,964 reported cases of the disease, with 504 deaths. Of these, 6,163 cases and 116 deaths have been in Juba. The international response, working in partnership with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, has recently made good progress in bringing the outbreak under control in the South. Over the last week in Juba, for instance, there were only 10 new cases and no deaths reported. There continue to be new cases reported in some parts of the South but the response has become increasingly effective in containing these and treating those infected, according to DFID's humanitarian partners.
	The UN Common Humanitarian Fund in Sudan, to which the UK is the largest donor with £49 million this year, has played a key role in funding the international and local response to the cholera outbreak in the South, through UN agencies and NGOs.
	In Angola, a widespread cholera epidemic has been ongoing since mid-February, when the first case of cholera was reported in the Boa Vista slum area of Luanda. Due primarily to heavy rains, and poor hygiene and sanitation conditions, the epidemic spread rapidly to the other municipalities and then to neighbouring provinces (Benguela, Bengo, Kuanza Norde, Malanje, Huambom, Namibe and Bie).
	Even though the epidemic has calmed considerably from its peak at the beginning of May, when more than 500 cases were being reported per day, it continues to result in 100 new cases per day across the country. By July 11, the Angolan Ministry of Health reported a total of 49,620 cases of cholera and 2,040 deaths since mid-February, making it the most serious outbreak ever to have affected Angola.
	DFID has provided £200,000 to Medecins Sans Frontieres to help combat the epidemic in Angola, and is currently supporting UNICEF with a grant of £3.5 million to tackle some of the root causes of Angola's vulnerability to cholera outbreaks, including the poorest's access to primary health care, safe water and sanitation.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the Unnumbered Command Papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; by what means  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Documents which are laid before Parliament as unnumbered Command Papers are generally restricted to Explanatory Notes to Treaties, Explanatory Memoranda to Statutory Instruments and some Treasury Minutes. All other documents are published in the Numbered Command Papers series.
	A complete list of unnumbered Command Papers can be produced only at disproportionate cost.
	Copies of all unnumbered Command Papers are made available via the Vote Office.

Departmental Staff

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many disabled staff in his Department received support through the Access to Work scheme (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) in 2006-07.

Gareth Thomas: The number of disabled staff in DFID that received support through the Access to Work scheme in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			   DFID staff (number) 
			 2001-02 1 
			 2002-03 1 
			 2003-04 0 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 3 
			 2006-07 0 
			 Total 5

Departmental Travel Costs

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1408W, on departmental travel costs, whether each flight was a return flight; how many of the trips involved overnight stays; what the cost of overnight stays was; what the purpose was of the trips; and what assessment was made of using alternative travel to Glasgow to achieve the objectives.

Gareth Thomas: There were 1,056 return flights from London to Glasgow during 2005, 874 of which involved overnight stays at a total cost of £126,642. All travellers are required to confirm the business purpose when booking flights but DFID does not keep a central record. We are evaluating our investment in video-conferencing and better communication to provide a cost effective alternative to travel and staff must confirm before booking flights that they have considered conducting their business by other methods.

Developing Countries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on his Department's commitments to address climate change and environmental degradation in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) has issued two key papers in recent months outlining our commitments on climate change and the environment.
	DFID's new White Paper, 'Eliminating world poverty: making governance work for the poor' was launched on 13 July. The White Paper addresses the need for a coherent approach to global environmental challenges and development, such as climate change. It states that:
	environmental wealth—natural resources—is a main source of growth in developing countries, and central to livelihoods of poor people;
	environmental sustainability is one of the seven essential components for developing country growth;
	we can help countries develop better approaches to using assets e.g. forests and water, in a more sustainable manner, and help manage the environmental impacts of growth;
	we need to focus on the global consequences of growth—climate change has negative consequences for poor countries;
	developing countries need assistance to access cleaner energy;
	we need better information about the predicted impacts of climate change; and
	developing countries need support to adapt and build resilience to climate change.
	In February 2006, DFID published a policy paper, "DFID's Approach to the Environment". It outlines how we incorporate sustainability and environment into our work. The paper sets out principles for tackling environmental challenges, to be applied according to the circumstances of country programmes. These include:
	integrating environmental management for poverty reduction into our work, focusing on opportunities as well as risks;
	supporting country driven processes e.g. poverty reduction strategies, to integrate local and global environmental priorities;
	providing technical assistance in selected countries and circumstances; and
	strengthening donor co-ordination on the environment, internationally and at country level.
	The paper has an implementation plan agreed across DFID and approved by Top Management. Each division is responsible for ensuring that it delivers on implementation. Progress will be reviewed in spring 2007.

Developing Countries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department will assist in strengthening  (a) biodiversity,  (b) the ecosystem and  (c) conservation services in developing countries.

Hilary Benn: DFID is committed to incorporating biodiversity into development in helping to improve poor people's livelihoods and in supporting developing countries to use the benefits of biodiversity and conservation to reduce poverty.
	Our major contribution to international biodiversity conservation is made through the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The GEF provides grants and concessional funds to help developing countries fund projects and programmes for sustainable management of the global environment. One third of the GEF's funds are spent on biodiversity and it is the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The UK is currently the fourth largest donor, contributing £118 million in the third replenishment period (2002-05). We are working to ensure a successful fourth replenishment.
	DFID recognises that biodiversity and the ecosystems it supports have a significant contribution to make towards poverty alleviation. However, the links between biodiversity, ecosystems and poverty often remain poorly understood. DFID is involved in a number of initiatives to develop a better understanding of mechanisms to capture the value of biodiversity and ecosystems.
	For instance, DFID is currently working to develop a collaborative research programme on Ecosystem Services and Poverty with the Nature Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Biodiversity will be a sub-theme within this programme.
	DFID is also one of the key contributors to the Ecosystems Marketplace. It serves as a one-stop shop for information on ecosystem service markets where providers and beneficiaries of ecosystem services can get together. More information is available at: http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/. Additionally, DFID has engaged in a collaborative research project with the UK's fourth largest fund manager—ISIS Asset Management—to examine the nature of the relationship between biodiversity and business and the associated risks.
	As well as these initiatives, DFID works to ensures that its development assistance does not contribute to damage to ecosystems. Environmental Screening, mandatory for all DFID assistance greater than £1 million, identifies environmental risks and opportunities. We are currently reviewing Environmental Screening experience since 2003. This will consider compliance with procedures and the quality of screening.
	We also work to ensure that there is a coherent Government approach to international biodiversity. To achieve this, an Inter-departmental Ministerial Group on Biodiversity (IDMGB), comprising DFID, the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Ministers has been established.

Developing Countries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff in his Department work on  (a) climate change and  (b) other environmental issues in developing countries, based (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad.

Hilary Benn: Implementing DFID's environment policy involves a range of staff, including programme managers and advisers with environment, livelihoods and infrastructure responsibilities.
	DFID has 18 specialist environment posts working on climate change and environment. Of these, 12 are full-time environment posts; and six combine environment with other responsibilities, such as livelihoods or infrastructure.
	In the UK, the Sustainable Development Group in Policy Division is home to ten specialist environment and natural resource posts split between three teams:
	Global Environmental Assets (covering climate change, biodiversity, desertification etc.);
	Environment for Sustainable Development (local environmental issues and minerals); and
	Water and Energy.
	Policy work on agriculture (including fisheries and forestry) is carried out by the Renewable Natural Resources and Agriculture team in Policy Division's Growth and Investment Group.
	On environment in developing countries, Asia Division has a regional adviser based in the UK and advisers in China, India and Bangladesh. Africa Division has two regional advisers based in UK and one adviser based in Kenya.
	In addition to its environment specialists, many of DFID's livelihoods and infrastructure advisers have relevant background or qualifications for working on environmental issues. Ten out of 38 infrastructure advisers have formal environmental professional qualifications e.g. Institution of Water and Environmental Management. Over half of our livelihoods advisers have natural resources qualifications and experience (e.g. soil science, forestry). Each group is lead by a head of profession. The head of profession environment post is currently filled on an acting basis but we will be advertising shortly. DFID's chief scientific adviser has been providing support on climate change and agriculture. This role has been formalised in his work plan for 2006-07.

Developing Countries

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many meetings he has had with other Ministers to discuss climate change and its impact on developing countries in the last 12 months.

Hilary Benn: I was a member of the ad-hoc ministerial committee on climate change established prior to the G8 summit in 2005 to give officials a steer on this issue. This group met several times in the run up to the summit. Following the G8 summit responsibility for the international dimension of the UK's climate change strategy was taken on by the ministerial committee on energy and environment (EE), chaired by the Prime Minister, of which I am a member. In late June 2006, I met with the cross-party group of MPs who are participating in the G8+5 climate change dialogue, to discuss DFID's approach to tackling climate change. Climate change has also been identified as a key priority in the UK Government's latest Development White Paper.
	At a side event at the World Bank annual meetings in September 2005, the World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz and I officially launched the energy investment framework, which is to leverage private sector investment in lower carbon energy and energy efficiency with an emphasis on developing countries, particularly those with the fastest growing energy needs. This is an important element of the G8 plan of action on climate change, clean energy and sustainable development.
	At the World Bank spring meetings in April 2006 the first draft of the investment framework received broad support from development committee members.

Developing Countries

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department allocated to tackling diseases in developing countries in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by disease.

Gareth Thomas: DFID uses a range of different aid instruments, from direct support to countries to funding through multilateral agencies. It is therefore not possible to break down spending on individual communicable diseases; however it is possible to separate out AIDS from other communicable diseases.
	DFID's spend on communicable diseases apart from AIDS in 2004-05 was £80 million. Recording AIDS-specific expenditure is difficult because there are a range of sectors which have an impact on the epidemic, including health, education, social development and good government. There are also a range of instruments used to channel AIDS-related development spending. DFID has been working with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and others to review and improve these expenditure calculations. While refinements to the methodology are still in progress, DFID has reported a provisional bilateral expenditure of £350 million on AIDS for the period 2004-05.
	The focus of our work in health is to help countries strengthen their health systems both to prevent and mitigate the impact of communicable diseases. Functioning systems are crucial for effectively tackling diarrhoeal diseases, pneumonia and vaccine preventable disease epidemics as well as HIV, TB and malaria. In 2004-05, the UK provided more than £360 million to support health services through our country, regional and research programmes and provided a further £110 million for health through multilateral assistance to World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN agencies.
	The UK also provides general poverty reduction budget support to countries to help build basic services, including for health. We are supporting a number of innovative financing mechanisms to increase resources to tackle communicable diseases. For example, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation will raise an additional £4 billion from a number of donors for vaccines for the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisations and help support the development of new vaccines for communicable diseases that can be prevented.

Food Security (Africa)

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment his Department has made of the food security situation in  (a) Southern Africa,  (b) the Horn of Africa and  (c) Western Africa.

Hilary Benn: In Southern Africa, the overall picture on food production shows a marked improvement this year compared to the 2004-05 growing season, when DFID spent more than £67 million to deliver emergency assistance to up to 11 million affected people. Urgent humanitarian needs are unlikely this year, except in Zimbabwe, where needs remain pronounced.
	Malawi and Zambia are reporting excellent harvests this year, with projected maize production figures for both countries almost double the volumes recorded in 2005. This should feed into more stable prices and improved access in the coming months. Production in South Africa has decreased sharply this year—a result of depressed prices in 2005 in the domestic market—but carryover stocks from last year are high. The food security outlook for the coming year is worst in Zimbabwe. Although food production is up on last year's levels, more than 1 million Zimbabweans still require sustained assistance to help them meet their food requirements.
	In West Africa, the food security situation is improved compared to 2005, although continuing humanitarian concerns persist, particularly in the Sahel. In Niger, where populations continue to struggle against the legacies of last year's crisis, up to 1.8 million people are currently facing acute difficulties in the ongoing hungry season, with up to 400,000 malnourished children expected to require nutritional therapy this year. In Mauritania, the hungry season is judged to have started early, with up to 400,000 facing acute levels of food-insecurity, particularly in the south. DFID currently has an ongoing humanitarian and hunger-related programme of assistance for the Sahel worth £4 million this year.
	Prospects for recovery in the Sahel this year appear compromised by erratic, late-starting and below average rains for the current agricultural season. Elsewhere in West Africa, localised problems of food-insecurity affecting relatively few people (particularly in Guinea and Guinea Buissau) are the exception to an otherwise positive prognosis, with good rainfall expected to lead to an above-average maize crop in August.
	In the Horn of Africa, DFID shares the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (UN FAO)'s recent assessment that despite improved rains in eastern Africa, food security remains poor among some communities in particular in northern and eastern Kenya, and in Somalia in many of the same areas affected by drought in 2005. In Kenya, overall prospects for the current main cereal crop are favourable, but in Somalia, the outlook is poor and output is expected to be reduced for the third consecutive year. In Eritrea, the picture is mixed. In Ethiopia, the prospects are generally good apart from in parts of the south east. The UN estimates that 7.5 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in drought-affected areas. In each of these countries high levels of malnutrition and starvation have been demonstrated among children over the past year. The areas and communities where this occurs should be the priority for food aid assistance, and humanitarian assistance more generally. DFID has committed more than £46 million of humanitarian assistance to the response since the end of 2005.

Haiti

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions his Department has had with the World Health Organisation on access to clean water and sanitation in Haiti.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 19 July 2006
	DFID regularly discusses water and sanitation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) through the Joint Monitoring Programme implemented by WHO and UNICEF, which provides data on access to safe water and basic sanitation. However, we have not had any recent specific discussions on Haiti.

Java

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department has provided in response to the earthquake that struck Java in May.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has so far given £5 million to relief agencies working to address the urgent humanitarian needs of people affected by the earthquake that struck Java in May. That support includes £1 million for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to pay for the provision of emergency relief supplies. The rest of the money is being spent through various UN and non-governmental organisations to provide medical supplies and services, shelter and water and sanitation.
	DFID recently committed a further £5 million for the longer-term reconstruction of the area of Java affected by the earthquake. DFID is now working with the Indonesian Government and other agencies to develop a plan to rebuild as quickly and as safely as possible, and to ensure that new buildings are suitably earthquake-resistant so as to avoid a future disaster of this scale.

Java

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has given the Java island following the tsunami; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID has not provided any assistance in the wake of the tsunami in Central and West Java because the Government of Indonesia has stated that it does not require international assistance. The Indonesian Minister of People's Welfare has provided 750 million Indonesian Rupiah (80 million US Dollars) to the local government in Ciasmis, West Java and 250 million Indonesian Rupiah (27 million US Dollars) to the local government in Cilacap, Central Java for their emergency response.
	DFID staff in Jakarta and London continue to monitor the situation and are ready to provide assistance if it is needed.

Lebanon

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK aid was granted to Lebanon in each of the last five years; and how these funds were allocated.

Hilary Benn: The UK channels most of its aid to Lebanon through the EC and the UN. The multilateral figures are based on UK core contributions to the EC and the UN. The UK has also provided some bilateral support to Lebanon, largely through the 'Small Grants scheme' administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	
		
			   Multilateral (£ million)   Bilateral, (£ million)   
			   EC  UN  Total multilateral  Grants and other aid in kind  Humanitarian assistance  Total bilateral  Grand total 
			 2000-01 5.4 4.1 9.4 0.23 0.407 0.636 10.08 
			 2001-02 1.1 5.3 6.4 0.111 0 0.111 6.48 
			 2002-03 1.8 4.5 6.2 0.232 0 0.232 6.45 
			 2003-04 3.7 4.2 7.9 0.102 0 0.102 8.04 
			 2004-05 6.9 7.9 14.8 0.297 0 0.297 15.06 
		
	
	Over the last five years, DFID has also made significant contributions to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon including through the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) (£4.2 million this year). UNRWA's activities supporting mainly the basic needs of Palestinian refugees providing camp facilities, health, education and food aid and job creation activities.
	The World Bank also maintains a significant loan portfolio in Lebanon, but this in not concessional and therefore does not qualify as aid.

Middle East (Project Funding)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects his Department is funding in  (a) Sudan,  (b) Lebanon,  (c) Israel and  (d) Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: We are supporting the following projects and activities in Sudan:
	 Humanitarian projects
	UN-managed Common Humanitarian Fund, plus support for UN sector co-ordination
	Humanitarian programmes of Non Governmental Organisations
	International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
	 Development projects
	World Bank-managed Multi Donor Trust Funds (National and South), plus consultancy support
	Basic Services Fund for Southern Sudan
	United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): Local Government Recovery project
	Safety, Security and Access to Justice programme (Southern Sudan)
	Christian Aid: National Strategy
	Capacity Building for Government of Southern Sudan
	UNICEF: Support for Strengthening Water Sector Capacity in Southern Sudan
	Malaria Consortium National Response
	Ockenden International: Partnership for Peace
	Capacity building for Debt Management
	Rift Valley Institute
	GOAL: Female Literacy and Empowerment
	Scholarships programme
	UNDP: Strategic Partnership Arrangement
	Support for UN/ World Bank Darfur needs assessment
	BBC World Service Trust: Darfur Lifeline Radio
	Tufts Institute: Research on livelihoods in Darfur
	 Peace building
	PACT: Southern Sudanese Pre-Interim Transition to Peace
	UNDP : Support for Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration ( DDR)
	Security Sector Adviser
	International Military Advisers Team
	Peace Building Fund
	Support for East Sudan Talks
	Support for Africa Union information campaign
	Support for the Africa Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS)
	Responding to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, and working to underpin the Comprehensive and the Darfur Peace Agreements are among DFID's top priorities. This is reflected in the projects that DFID is supporting.
	DFID does not fund any projects in Israel. The Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), run jointly by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and DFID, is funding the following projects in or involving Israel:
	Peace Now Settlement Watch
	Ir Amin—Advocacy project on the status of Jerusalem
	Economic Co-operation Foundation—Gaza Disengagement
	Council for Peace and Security—Advocacy work on Israeli separation
	HaMoKed/B'Tselem—Freedom of movement for Palestinians
	Palestinian media activities in support of the Roadmap (joint GCPP/USAID)
	Ah Hoc Liaison Committee
	EXACT—Management of Shared Water Resources to Reduce Pollution Risks
	DFID has no bilateral programme with Lebanon or Syria but GCPP currently funds one project in Lebanon.
	Police and Justice Sector Reform—Training courses for the Lebanese Internal Security Forces.

Millennium Development Goals

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how his Department measures progress against the Millennium Development Goals in relation to countries where data on performance in key sectors is missing or incomplete.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 18 July 2006
	DFID uses international data from the World Bank and the United Nations to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the countries in which it has a programme. It is not possible to assess progress towards the MDGs in countries where data on performance in key sectors is missing or incomplete. In such countries, DFID will identify other ways to measure progress. For example, DFID might use targets contained in partner government national strategies as the basis on which progress is assessed. In some countries, sample surveys conducted through DFID projects or by other agencies provide useful data on which assessments of progress can be made.
	DFID is working with many partner countries and with international institutions to improve the quality of the data that are available to measure progress, so that the number of cases of incomplete or missing data are reduced. This includes working with the PARIS 21 (Partnerships in Statistics for Development for the 21st Century) consortium of donors, partner countries and multilateral agencies to raise awareness of the problems linked to inadequate statistics.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding his Department has provided for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; and if his Department will fund a future Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provided funding to the International Institute for Environment and Development of approximately £68,000 for lead co-ordination of a forests working group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and contributions on climate change. DFID recognises the importance of the Assessment and it informed development of our own environmental policy. As far as we know there are no plans to undertake another Assessment so soon after the previous one. We would consider possible support to such an initiative should this decision be made.

Palestine

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what projects in the Palestinian Territories funded by  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) the European Union were damaged or destroyed by Israeli military action in the month prior to 19 July.

Hilary Benn: Because of military activity, aid agencies currently face difficulty assessing the extent of damage to facilities in the Gaza Strip. However, initial reports from northern Gaza indicate that four schools and one clinic provided for Palestinian refugees through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have sustained heavy damages. Fifty seven empty food containers leased by UNRWA have also been damaged at a cost of £31,000. The European Community and EU member states collectively provide more than half of UNRWA's core funding and two of the damaged schools were specifically financed from European Community funds.
	The main entrance bridge to Beit Hanun was partially destroyed by an Israeli air strike on 9 July. The bridge was built in 2004 with £205,000 in funding from the European Community.

Paraguay

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the Government of Paraguay on  (a) debt bondage affecting indigenous peoples in the Chaco and  (b) the trafficking of human beings and the system known as criadazgo affecting child domestic workers; and whether the Department is supporting projects in Paraguay to tackle these problems.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development is not funding projects nor had discussions with the Government of Paraguay on the problems of debt bondage affecting indigenous people in the Chaco or on the trafficking of human beings.

Pharmaceuticals (Developing Nations)

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the impact of the classification of returned medicines under the Hazardous Waste Regulations on the provision of pharmaceutical treatments to developing countries; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: When returned medicines have been sent abroad to developing countries in the past, they have caused a number of problems in receiving countries. This has been because of quality and labelling issues, the medicines were not always the ones wanted, and the cost of sorting and then disposing of the useless products.
	The classification of mixed, returned medicines as waste will provide a barrier to the export of unwanted, poor quality and mislabelled drugs and medicines to developing countries. It also encourages the rigorous inspection and sorting of these wastes, so that properly labelled, quality-assured medicines can be separated out and sent to those developing countries that need them.

PR Agencies

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on using public affairs and public relations agencies in each of the last two years; and on what projects in each case.

Gareth Thomas: In the last two years, the following three projects using public affairs or public relations agencies were commissioned centrally by DFID at a total cost of £223,509.19.
	 Corporate Communications
	June to September 2004
	Agency: COI
	Total Cost: £16,890.63
	Project: To provide DFID with a corporate communications strategy and three-year plan. COI developed communication objectives, strategies and plans that would help achieve DFID's organisational objectives.
	 Asia 2015
	November 2005 to March 2006
	Agency: Weber Shandwick
	Total Cost: £203,918.56
	Project: To support the Asia 2015 conference with media relations in both the UK and throughout key markets in Asia, specifically India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
	 St. Helena
	April 2006
	Agency: Capricorn Videos
	Total Cost: £2,700
	Project: To record the DFID Public Information and Consultation Week in April 2006 in order to produce a two-hour film for local television.

Public Appointments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many public appointments are within his patronage; what  (a) salary and  (b) other emoluments are attached to each; and what the comparable figures were in (i) 1976, (ii) 1986 and (iii) 1996.

Hilary Benn: DFID currently has 17 public appointments that are the responsibility of Secretary of State for International Development. This comprises two members of the Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board and 15 members of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. The Chair of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) currently receives £5,000 per annum. An honoraria of £200 is paid to those CSC Board members who participate in selection boards for awarding scholarships. Additionally, CSC Board members receive remuneration for travel expenses. The members of the Crown Agents Holding and Realisation Board attract no emoluments.
	In the past, the only members of a public body within the patronage of DFID, who received more than expenses, were those appointed to the Board of the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC). The CDC transformed from a statutory corporation into a public limited company in December 1999. The last salary information we have for the CDC is for 1999 when the Chair received £30,000, the Deputy £10,000 and Board members (five in total) received £7,500 per annum.
	Details of the public appointments to public bodies sponsored by the Department for International Development can be found in Public Bodies, copies of which are in the Library. Public Bodies has been published annually since 1980 and the most recent edition provides figures for 2005. Each edition of Public Bodies contains details on the number of public appointments and remuneration details for that particular year. Comparable information for 1976 in respect of those bodies sponsored by DFID could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Somalia

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) humanitarian and  (b) security situation in Somalia.

Hilary Benn: We keep the humanitarian situation in Somalia under constant review. There have been a number of assessment visits this year with DFID participation, and I visited the drought-affected area around Wajid myself in May.
	The main concern remains the effect of the drought in some areas of the South. The conflict in Mogadishu and beyond between Somali warlords and Islamic Courts, which now threatens to involve others, is also having humanitarian repercussions as people's lives are disrupted by the fighting. It appears that for the time being, Mogadishu is no longer contested and that people are now able to go about their business more freely. The UN estimates that approximately 1.7 million people require relief assistance in Somalia. The main rains have been better than last year, but still a long way short of the quantities and distribution needed to produce a satisfactory harvest and recovery of pasture. The UK is currently the second biggest donor of humanitarian assistance having committed £13.2 million since the onset of the drought. This includes support to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who are providing drought relief assistance and directly addressing the effects of the previous fighting in Mogadishu where they run hospitals treating the wounded.
	The security situation in Somalia is extremely fragile. The past few months have seen heavy fighting in Mogadishu. With the Islamic Courts' victory over the warlords, the situation in the city appears to have largely stabilised. However, there is a continued threat of conflict between the Transitional Federal Government based in Baidoa and the Islamic Courts which could destabilise the whole country and region, and draw in regional states. We are urging all national and regional parties to show restraint and commit themselves to resolve the situation through dialogue. We strongly support continuation of the Arab League sponsored dialogue between the Transitional Federal Institutions and the Islamic Courts in Khartoum.
	The northern parts of Somalia remain relatively stable.

Sudan

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the  (a) humanitarian and  (b) security situation in the Sudan, broken down by region.

Hilary Benn: The information is as follows:
	 Darfur
	The humanitarian situation in Darfur continues to be of concern. The ability of agencies to access and deliver assistance to affected populations has become increasingly difficult because of banditry, inter-SLA factional fighting and attacks on civilians and NGO staff. In North Darfur, the recent fighting between SLA factions has led to an estimated 15-18,000 people displaced, adding to the 250,000 displaced since the start of 2006. While humanitarian indicators (health, mortality, malnutrition etc.) have remained relatively stable in the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, the oncoming rainy season and the increasing instability threatens to undermine the progress made.
	 East.
	The issue of access for humanitarian agencies is also a significant problem in the East. The World Food Programme (WFP) has propositioned food stocks in anticipation of both the rains and further access difficulties.
	 South.
	The UN estimate that about 500,000 displaced people returned to the South from within Sudan and neighbouring countries over the last dry season (October-May). The flow of returnees has slowed in recent weeks due to the onset of the rains. Provision of basic services and the establishment of sustainable livelihoods for returnees and others in the South is a major challenge. There has been a predicted seasonal surge in malaria and other disease in the South, but the cholera outbreak has largely been brought under control.
	 DFID Humanitarian Program.
	DFID is providing £67 million this financial year to humanitarian activities in Sudan. In Darfur, we are the second largest bilateral donor with £126 million given in humanitarian assistance since 2003. A major part of our funding this year (£49 million) is for the Common Humanitarian Fund, a pioneering mechanism allowing the Humanitarian Co-ordinator to fund the highest priorities across Sudan. We also continue to lobby the Government of Sudan on allowing full and unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies throughout Darfur and the rest of Sudan.
	Security information is as follows:
	 Darfur.
	The situation remains fragile. Fighting continues between different rebel groups as well as tribal militias, particularly around Sir Maza, Tawilla and Kutum in North Darfur and Greida in South Darfur. Banditry is an ongoing problem, especially in West Darfur.
	 East.
	Some isolated clashes have been reported, but overall the situation is calm at present. The SPLM forces withdrawal from Hamesh Korei has been peaceful. However, there is some tension along the border between Sudan and Eritrea. We hope that the current talks in Asmara will lead to lasting security in the region.
	 South
	Much of Southern Sudan remains volatile. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has re-established a presence in the far South. Recent tribal clashes in Lakes State reportedly left 60 dead. Lawlessness remains a problem.
	 Khartoum/North.
	The situation is calm at present. We condemn the recent attack on Hamrat ash-Sheikh in North Kordofan, and any attempt to spread violence from Darfur further afield.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to tackle the shortage of water in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: Water access and management are root causes of the conflict in Darfur DFID's expenditure for water and sanitation in Sudan is approximately £17 million per year, which accounts for approximately half of DFID's total water and sanitation expenditure in Africa. The bulk of these funds are provided as humanitarian support channelled through the Common Humanitarian Fund and NGOs. We are also providing direct support to UNICEF, which is a key donor for the water sector.
	Water will be a core issue for the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed in early May 2006. A UN/World Bank-led Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) was launched in June to plan the recovery and development process for Darfur. Water will be an important issue that they will consider when formulating their plans, which will be presented to donors at a pledging conference in October. The UK has provided technical experts for the JAM and £360,000 for its administration costs. The JAM's conclusions will shape our future support for Darfur. We stand ready to be a major partner in its recovery and development.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will assess the outcome of the Brussels Conference on Darfur; and what additional resources have been pledged.

Hilary Benn: The EU estimates that at least $186 million was pledged to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) at a Donors' Conference in Brussels on 18 July, though they are still finalising the total figure. This is a very creditable result. The UK re-affirmed its pledge of £20 million for AMIS for this financial year. We stand ready to go on pressing others to contribute more should it prove necessary.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many  (a) helicopters and  (b) armoured vehicles have been lent to the African Union Mission in Sudan.

Hilary Benn: The Canadian Government have supplied 105 armoured personnel carriers and 25 helicopters, providing 1,200 helicopter flying hrs per month to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Canada has recently announced it would also contribute a further 200 helicopter flying hours per month. We are not aware that any other helicopters or armoured vehicles have been lent to AMIS.

Sudan

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what strategies have been put in place to protect women from violence in Darfur, with particular reference to those residing in camps.

Hilary Benn: The African Union mission in Darfur (AMIS) co-ordinates firewood patrols to provide protection for women when they leave camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Where this is happening the number of reported rapes has decreased significantly, and we are encouraging the African Union (AU) to promote this practice. AMIS also has civilian police presence in many IDP camps and we are urging AMIS within its resources to prioritise the civilian protection elements of its mandate.
	We have made, and continue to make clear, to the Government of Sudan that more must be done to provide security for the citizens of Darfur, and that perpetrators of such crimes must be brought to justice. In late December 2005, the UK participated in a mission to assess human rights in West Darfur consisting of representatives of the Government of Sudan, the UN and international community. The mission paid specific attention to gender based violence, and produced a number of recommendations. We are pressing the Government of Sudan to implement these recommendations as a matter of urgency. Transfer to a UN mission in Darfur, which the UK supports, would also help deal with the problems.

Technical Assistance

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department  (a) has allocated in each of the last three financial years and  (b) plans to allocate in each of the next three financial years to technical assistance.

Hilary Benn: Technical assistance is the provision of know-how in the form of personnel, training, research and associated costs.
	
		
			  Expenditure on technical assistance for last three years is as follows: 
			  £000 
			  Category of Technical Assistance (TA)  2002-03  As percentage of total TA  2003-04  As percentage of total TA  2004-05  As percentage of total TA 
			 Consultancies 221,984 40 215,321 45 218,871 46 
			 Training and Scholarships 29,400 5 23,123 5 24,355 5 
			 Knowledge and Research 217,059 39 185,283 38 169,162 36 
			 Other 89,540 16 58,321 12 62,887 13 
			 Total Technical Assistance 557,983 — 482,048 — 475,275 — 
		
	
	The final statistics for 2005-06 will be published in "Statistics on International Development 2006" in October 2006.
	Future plans for DFID spending are set out in Annex 1, Table 4 of DFID's latest Departmental Report, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. We do not set planning figures for Technical Assistance.

Treaty of Amsterdam

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the deliberations of the Treaty of Amsterdam Article 133 Committee since 1997.

Ian McCartney: I have been asked to reply.
	There are no formal minutes of the meetings of the Article 133 Committee. However the Secretariat of the Council of the European Union produces "outcomes of proceedings" from Article 133 Committee meetings and these are accessible in accordance with Council Regulation 1049/2001 (Regulation of the European Parliament and Council regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents) through the Council's website at http://ue.eu.int.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding has been pledged to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund for 2007 by  (a) the UK,  (b) the EU and  (c) G8 countries.

Hilary Benn: The UK has disbursed £40 million to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for year 2006. The UK has pledged a further £40 million per annum for the next three years (ie in total the UK will provide £160 million over four years).
	The European Commission has made no commitments to the CERF. A number of European Union member states have made commitments for 2006. They are: UK £40 million/$70 million, Sweden $41 million, Netherlands $24 million, Ireland $12 million, Spain $10 million, Denmark $8.5 million, Finland $4.7 million, Luxembourg $4 million, France $1.2 million, Belgium $1.2 million, Portugal $254,000, Poland $250,000, Greece $100,000, Estonia $24,000, and Slovenia $10,000. The UK is the only EU member state to have announced commitments beyond the current year.
	Five G8 countries have made commitments to the CERF. For this year the commitments are: UK £40 million/$70 million, Canada $17 million, Japan $7.5 million, France $1.2 million. The US has committed $5 million for fiscal year 2006 and $5 million for fiscal year 2007. The UK is the only other G8 country to have announced commitments beyond the current year.

UN Central Emergency Response Fund

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with his G8 counterparts on their  (a) current and  (b) planned contributions to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.

Hilary Benn: During the development of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), my officials and I had discussions with various G8 countries at bilateral and international meetings and by telephone. Five G8 members—UK, Canada, US, Japan and France have committed funds to the CERF and I continue to encourage other countries to contribute.
	At the launch of DFID's Humanitarian Policy at the British Red Cross Headquarters on 7 June, I announced future UK funding commitments to the CERF. On top of the £40 million provided this year, I have pledged a further £40 million per annum for the next three years (i.e. in total the UK will provide £160 million over four years). I hope this will encourage others to commit future funding, and I will raise this issue with other G8 countries at appropriate opportunities.

Water

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's policy is on  (a) the provision of piped water connections to provide water to the urban poor and  (b) other forms of water provision; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 19 July 2006
	DFID helps developing country governments to implement their own plans for provision of water and sanitation, which include both piped and public or communal provision to safe water, as appropriate. DFID provides direct financing and technical know-how. We also support the international system, particularly the UN to gather data on access to safe water and basic sanitation. In most countries, access to water and sanitation is better in urban areas than it is in rural. Access to water may be through house connections or through public connections close to the home.
	The urban population in Africa will increase from 300 million to 500 million between 2000 and 2015 and in Asia from 1.35 billion to 2 billion. This rapid growth in urban populations will pose severe problems to our partner governments including that of increasing access to water and sanitation. DFID has urban water and sanitation projects in Ghana, Nigeria, India and Bangladesh and our International Division supports the Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor to deliver sustainable water and sanitation to low-income urban and peri-urban communities. DFID is committed to doubling spending on water in Africa to £95 million by 2008 and a further doubling to £200 million by 2011. We are now actively involved in seven African countries (Ethiopia, the DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia), up from only two years ago; and through our funding of other agencies' programmes, we reach many other countries. For example the EU plans to provide 10 million people with access to water and a further 5 million to sanitation by 2010 through projects it has recently approved through the Water Facility.

Water

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has spent on assistance on water provision in cities in the developing world since 1997.

Hilary Benn: holding answer 19 July 2006
	DFID commissioned an independent report on its expenditure on water and sanitation in the developing world. This report, "Financial Support to the Water Sector", was produced by Atkins Consultants and is publicly available at http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/water-sector-finance.pdf. Copies have also been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, in response to previous related parliamentary questions.
	The report presents a breakdown of expenditure by region, country and theme. In 2001-02, the first year for which an urban/rural breakdown is available, £35.8 million of DFID's bilateral water expenditure was spent on 'Urban water supply and sanitation'. In subsequent years there was a shift to rural activities. Bilateral urban water and sanitation expenditure was £29 million in 2003-04. A proportion of DFID's contributions to multilateral, civil society organisations and Poverty Reduction Budget Support will also be spent on water provision in developing world cities, but it is not possible to break this expenditure down by theme.
	An update of the report, with details of expenditure for 2004-05 and 2005-06 will be published in autumn 2006.

Women's Rights

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes are funded by his Department on  (a) women's rights,  (b) equality issues and  (c) domestic violence prevention in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Hilary Benn: DFID currently has two programmes supporting civil society in Iraq in promoting women's rights and equality issues, among other aspects.
	Our £5 million Civil Society Fund supports international (mainly UK) Non Governmental Organisations to work with Iraqi counterparts. As part of this we are working with Women for Women International in Iraq to build women's leadership capacity, awareness of rights and the capacity to transfer knowledge and skills to the community more broadly. The Civil Society Fund also provides funding for the Women's National Commission's Internship project, which is working with women to engage with the Iraqi Government, by contributing to better and more inclusive, policies affecting women.
	Our £7.5 million Political Participation Fund works directly with a range of Iraqi civil society organisations to help them engage in the political process and has supported a number of Iraqi women's groups in improving the political awareness and participation of women in Iraq's constitutional processes, including its recent elections.
	We have not funded specific projects in Iraq on domestic violence prevention.
	 Afghanistan
	DFID supports the role of women in all aspects of Afghan society. The strategy we are working towards is the Interim Afghan National Development Strategy (I-ANDS).
	The I-ANDS recognises gender as a key cross cutting theme. Development of the full ANDS will ensure that these important issues are adequately addressed across the board. DFID are also funding the Government's National Programmes which include support to enhancing the role of women at community level. For example, the National Solidarity Programme ensures that women are engaged in determining community development priorities through the formation of Community Development Councils. We also support the Micro-finance Investment Support Facility of Afghanistan (MISFA), currently working in 18 provinces and plans to be active in all 34 by end of 2007. 80 per cent. of MISFA's beneficiaries are women.
	DFID supports equal rights for all the citizens of Afghanistan. At the national level we provided support to the drafting of the new constitution, which has successfully protected the rights of women and minority ethnic groups before the law. DFID provided significant funding for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections which have been a milestone for Afghanistan. A wide choice of candidates existed from a variety of ethnic, social and political backgrounds. A high number of women also registered as candidates and participated as voters (43 per cent. of voters were women).
	DFID has not funded specific projects that target domestic violence in Afghanistan. However the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), through the Global Opportunities Fund is sponsoring a number of projects specifically designed to increase women's access to justice, improve their living standards, promote women's equal participation in governance, create a professional network of women's rights organisations and promote access to information through the radio.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what advertising campaigns the Department has run between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Expenditure on advertising by the Department procured through Central Office of Information (COI) for 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, was £9.4 million, £6.1 million, £1l.5 million, £4.1 million. Figures exclude VAT. The following table contains details. The Department does not hold information on other campaigns centrally, including those by non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and to do so would entail disproportionate cost. In addition to provide information against each entry on the intended audience and purpose of the campaign, would again entail disproportionate costs.
	
		
			   £ 
			  2000-01  
			 DTI Miscellaneous 4,606 
			 National Minimum Wage 595,994 
			 Import Licence Announcements 45,517 
			 Export Licence Announcements 15,992 
			 Small Business Services 85,647 
			 Distance Selling 16,366 
			 Minimum Wage Autumn 2000 2,932,365 
			 Miners Compensation Ad 134,674 
			 UK Online for Business 2000-01 1,588,626 
			 Smart Awards 2000-01 138,266 
			 Paid Annual Leave 2,751,032 
			 Carbon Monoxide 37,520 
			 Small Business Service—Business Link 1,082,657 
			 Total 9,429,262 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 Export Licence Announcement 10,547 
			 Import Licence Announcement 55,632 
			 Business Link Foot and Mouth 202,731 
			 SBS—Business Link 1,511,010 
			 Quality Mark Scheme 626,426 
			 National Minimum Wage 310,330 
			 UK Online for Business 1,601,668 
			 E Business Week 114,194 
			 UK Online for Business—Supplement 387,645 
			 DTI Consumer Gateway 65,717 
			 Slips, Trips and Broken Hips 249,164 
			 DTI Miscellaneous 137,416 
			 Business Link 598,970 
			 Quality Mark Scheme 249,645 
			 Total 6,121,095 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 UK Online for Business 2002-03 3,393,124 
			 Export Licence Announcements 2002-03 10,131 
			 Import Licence Announcements 2002-03 88,685 
			 DTI Miscellaneous 2002-03 337,859 
			 UK Online for Business—Supplement 2002-03 153,384 
			 SBS Business Link 5,395,254 
			 Fireworks Campaign 2002-03 181,966 
			 National Minimum Wage 2002-03 299,443 
			 SBS Recruitment Advertising 14,537 
			 Parental Rights 2002-03 718,718 
			 DTI Consumer Gateway 2002-03 74,887 
			 Quality Mark 2002-03 779,817 
			 Ex-Miners Compensation 2002-03 85,559 
			 Total 11,533,364 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Parental Rights 2003-04 1,106,186 
			 Import Licence Announcements 2003-04 130,470 
			 Ex Miner Compensation 2003-04 384,875 
			 SBS Public Notice Advertising 2003-04 84,778 
			 SBS Business Link 2003-04 882,188 
			 DTI National Minimum Wage 2003-04 306,360 
			 Quality Mark Scheme 2003-04 189,973 
			 DTI EERA 13 2003-04 422,177 
			 DTI UK Online for Business 2003-04 163,965 
			 DTI Fireworks SMS Internet 2003-04 18,603 
			 DTI UK Online for Business Internet 2003-04 230,914 
			 DTI Consumer Gateway Internet 2003-04 37,686 
			 UK Trade and Investment 2003-04 194,784 
			 SBS Keyword 2003-04 20,799 
			 Total 4,173,758

Air Conditioning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and which buildings occupied by his Department have air conditioning installed; what plans he has to install further air conditioning in his Department's buildings; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Of the 15 buildings currently occupied by the Department (either leased commercially or as a tenant of another government body), the following have centralised cooling or air conditioning systems: 1 Victoria Street, London SW1; 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1; Kingsgate House, London SW1; Amberley House, Gloucester; Tay House, Glasgow.
	The Department has no plan to install further air conditioning systems. 1 Victoria Street, the DTI's main building, was designed as an energy efficient building with triple glazing, motorised blinds to limit solar gain and a passive chilled ceiling cooling system.

Airbus Consortium

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in states in the Airbus consortium; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, met his counterparts at a meeting at the Farnborough Air Show on 17 July. A copy of the communiqué issued at that meeting is as follows:
	 Airbus Ministerial Meeting at Farnborough International Air Show 2006, Monday 17 July
	Communiqué text:
	The Ministers of France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom responsible for the civil aerospace industry held their regular meeting at the Farnborough International Air Show on Monday 17 July 2006.
	The meeting was chaired by Alistair DARLING MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Also present were Dominique PERBEN, French Minister for Transport, Equipment, Tourism and the Sea; Georg Wilhelm ADAMOWITSCH, German State Secretary for Economics; Jose MONTILLA, Spanish Minister for Industry, Tourism and Trade; and Margaret HODGE MP, British Minister for Industry and the Regions. The industry was represented by Christian STREIFF, and the representatives of the Airbus shareholder committee, Thomas ENDERS, Louis GALLOIS and Francisco FERNANDEZ SAINZ for EADS and Mike TURNER for BAE Systems Plc. The Ministers offered their best wishes to the new management team of Airbus and EADS.
	Airbus made a presentation on the status of the A380 including an explanation of the industrial issues that have led to some delay in the delivery schedule for the aircraft and the steps Airbus is taking to remedy the situation. Ministers noted this presentation and expressed their confidence in the ability of Airbus management to address these industrial issues and in the commercial success of the A380 programme.
	The Ministers welcomed Airbus' response to the market and its intention to launch an all-new family of widebody aircraft. The Ministers confirmed their commitment to support the European aerospace industry. They reaffirmed their agreement to support Airbus to continue to innovate and to develop programmes in the context of international competition.
	The Ministers once again expressed their desire for a negotiated solution to the current WTO dispute, but stressed the need for a balanced outcome regarding support for both current and future programmes so as to ensure a level playing field.

Animal Welfare

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in implementing the proposals put forward by the Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals with respect to the trading of cat and dog fur and derived products.

Ian McCartney: Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Kyprianou stated at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 20 February that the European Commission was planning to publish a proposal on the import of cat and dog fur within the next few months. We are currently awaiting that proposal.

Animal Welfare

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of how much cat and dog fur has been imported into Britain in the last 12 months.

Ian McCartney: No evidence of significant imports has been brought to my attention. The UK has requested that a separate tariff code be introduced by the EU so that the level of such imports can be accurately assessed.

Area Assistance

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his Department's paper of 10 July 2006 on the Review of UK Assisted Areas Stage 2—The Government's response and draft assisted areas map, what average  (a) level of manufacturing share of employment,  (b) claimant rate of incapacity benefit,  (c) employment rate and  (d) level of adult skills at level 2 and above in (i) Great Britain, (ii) each ward of Scottish Borders council area, (iii) each ward of Dumfries and Galloway council area and (iv) each ward of Berwick borough council area were used to assess future eligibility for assistance; and what the (A) half a standard deviation and (B) full standard deviation (1) above and (2) below the Great Britain average are.

Margaret Hodge: The data for Great Britain, including wards in the Scottish Border council, Dumfries and Galloway council and Berwick borough council areas are available from the sources specified. The description gives a full definition of the data used in prioritising assisted area coverage in the Draft Map, including the thresholds related to the Great Britain average and standard deviation. The Department will place this information on its website, at
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/regional/assisted-areas/assisted-areas-review/page24618.html.
	Data have been built up from ward level, using census area statistics wards (2003 CAS wards). Where possible, averages of the three most recent years' data have been used.
	 Employment rate
	Ward level data from 2001 census have been used—working age population in employment (ILO definition) divided by total working age population (Source: NOMIS).
	To construct more recent estimates, numerators have been factored by local authority estimates of employment rate, using four-quarterly averages from the labour force survey (Source: NOMIS). The base year is taken as March 2001 to February 2002. A three-year average has been taken of these derived estimates, using the years March 2002 to February 2003, March 2003 to February 2004 and March 2004 to February 2005.
	The Great Britain average on this basis was 69.2 per cent. with a standard deviation of 6.4 per cent. Therefore the thresholds for eligibility of a zone were:
	half a standard deviation: employment rate less than 66.0 per cent.
	one standard deviation: employment rate less than 62.8 per cent.
	 Adult skills at level 2 or above
	Ward level data from 2001 census have been used—working age population with NVQ Level 2 qualification (or equivalent) or higher, divided by total working age population (Source: NOMIS).
	To construct more recent estimates, numerators have been factored by local authority estimates of working age Level 2+ skills rate, using the local area labour force survey (Source: NOMIS). The base year is taken as March 2001—February 2002. A three-year average has been taken of these derived estimates, using the years March 2001 to February 2002, March 2002 to February 2003 and March 2003 to February 2004.
	The Great Britain average on this basis was 52.2 per cent. with a standard deviation of 7.5 per cent. Therefore the thresholds for eligibility of a zone were:
	half a standard deviation: Level 2+ skills rate less than 48.5 per cent.
	one standard deviation: Level 2+ skills rate less than 44.8 per cent
	 Incapacity Benefit claimants
	Administrative data are available at ward level from the Department of Work and Pensions. The series used includes both incapacity benefit claimants and severe disablement allowance claimants. The claimant count denominator has been used (Source: NOMIS).
	A three-year average has been taken, using data from November 2003, November 2004 and November 2005.
	The Great Britain average on this basis was 7.9 per cent. with a standard deviation of 3.4 per cent. Therefore the thresholds for eligibility of a zone were:
	half a standard deviation: IB claimant rate greater than 9.7 per cent.
	one standard deviation: IB claimant rate greater than 11.4 per cent.
	 Manufacturing share of employment
	Data are taken from the Annual Business Inquiry employee analysis (Source: NOMIS). Rates are constructed as employment in Manufacturing (Standard Industrial Classification code D) divided by employment in all industrial sectors.
	Only two years' data are available for 2003 CAS wards. Therefore a two-year average has been taken, using data from 2003 and 2004.
	The Great Britain average on this basis was 12.3 per cent. with a standard deviation of 5.9 per cent. Therefore the thresholds for eligibility of a zone were:
	half a standard deviation: manufacturing share of employment greater than 15.3 per cent.
	one standard deviation: manufacturing share of employment greater than18.2 per cent.
	 Sources:
	All data used are publicly available. Data can be obtained through the following websites:
	NOMIS
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/
	Department of Work and Pensions
	http://www.dwp. gov.uk/asd/tabtool. asp
	General Register Office for Scotland (for Scottish Census data)
	http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/census/censushm/index .html

Bank and Shop Closures

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of the closure of post offices, bank branches and independent retail shops in Nottingham South and in the East Midlands on the  (a) frequency,  (b) distance and  (c) mode of transport of journeys by customers; and what assessment he has made of the impact of such closures on the level of (i) environmental emissions and (ii) traffic congestion.

Margaret Hodge: All local transport authorities are required to develop plans, termed Accessibility Strategies, to ensure that citizens have ease of access to facilities and amenities in their area. These are part of the Local Transport Plan process and Accessibility Strategies were submitted to Department for Transport as part of the second round of Local Transport Plans in March 2006.
	Department for Transport issued guidance to local transport authorities in December 2004 that highlighted food and essential services such as supermarkets, post offices and banks as being destinations that local transport authorities should consider as part of the process. Authorities were asked to prioritise the analysis of, and actions to promote, accessibility to these local services alongside other destinations such as access to employment. Accessibility Strategies contain a forward programme of analysis and action based on this prioritisation process.
	The South Nottinghamshire area is covered by the Greater Nottingham Local Transport Plan, which is jointly developed by Nottingham city council and Nottinghamshire county council. In the development of the associated Accessibility Strategy, a workshop was held in 2005 relating to access to food and essential services and included discussion of closures, cost of travel, relative infrequency of public transport in rural areas, and availability of information on transport types. The Post Office consumer group, Postwatch, were also consulted as part of this work.
	Department for Transport expects local transport authorities to develop detailed Local Accessibility Action Plans for each year of the plan period to 2010-11, based on the priorities identified through the themed workshops and discussions with partners.

Bankruptcy

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have declared themselves bankrupt in each London borough since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table records the numbers of individual bankruptcy orders in the London Region classified according to Official Receivers' offices from 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	Figures are not separately available for each London borough.
	
		
			  Bankruptcies recorded in London Region 1997-98 to 2005-06( 1, 2) 
			   Number 
			 1997-98 1,444 
			 1998-99 1,380 
			 1999-2000 1,290 
			 2000-01 1,298 
			 2001-02 1,421 
			 2002-03 1,562 
			 2003-04 2,132 
			 2004-05 (3)4,910 
			 2005-06 (4)6,699 
			 (1 )Croydon Official Receiver's Office is classified under London Region for 2004-05 and 2005-06 only, when it accounted for 1,678 and 2,446 bankruptcies respectively. (2) The latest two years figures also include Public Interest Unit (PIU) and Carousel, which together amount to 18 bankruptcies in 2004-05 and 18 in 2005-06. (3 )3,232 excl Croydon) (4) 4,253 excl Croydon)

Bankruptcy

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of farmers who went bankrupt in England in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The closest available estimate for bankruptcies amongst self-employed farmers is that for bankruptcies falling under the category "agriculture" according to the Insolvency Trade Classification and these can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Bankruptcies in England and Wales for Agriculture, 2001 to 2005 
			   Bankruptcy orders 
			 2001 183 
			 2002 132 
			 2003 151 
			 2004 204 
			 2005 195

BCCI

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many members of staff in the Insolvency Service are involved in dealing with the BCCI case; and what costs the Insolvency Service has incurred to date in relation to the case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No individual member of staff of the Insolvency Service is continuously involved in work related to the liquidation of BCCI but staff are deployed as and when required in dealing with inquiries, correspondence and receiving reports from and discussing issues with the liquidators. The cost of the involvement of Insolvency Service staff in work related to BCCI since 1991 could only be calculated as disproportionate cost.

Local Better Regulation Office

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has for powers for the proposed Local Better Regulation Office to inspect local authorities' environmental health and trading standards departments.

Ian McCartney: The Local Better Regulation Office will have a role overseeing and co-ordinating the work of trading standards and environmental health. The Local Better Regulation Office will work in partnership with local authorities and will not micro manage environmental health and trading standards departments. Its roles will include delivering a coordinated set of national priorities across trading standards and environmental health services; driving up performance standards within the wider local government performance framework; gathering evidence and responding to the concerns of business and local authorities about inconsistencies in the enforcement of regulation; driving best practice to reduce unnecessary burdens and establishing common frameworks where they add value. The Government will make an announcement on the powers LBRO will have later this year.

Broadband

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Government's definition of broadband was last changed; what criteria were applied to the decision; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: We use the Office of Telecommunications' (Ofcom) definition, published in their report "Review of the Wholesale Broadband Access Markets" of May 2004 as "higher bandwidth, always-on service, offering data rates of 128kbps and above". This definition is used to measure take-up of the dynamic range of services available to residential and business consumers that are classed by the industry as broadband and to make comparisons with other European countries.
	DTI focuses on the uses for broadband, encourages take-up of services and the applications it provides. To that end, we are working with industry and other interested parties through the Broadband Stakeholders Group to assist and advise us in supporting end users needs in a converged digital world. On 1 April 2005 we launched 'Connecting the UK: the Digital Strategy'. The strategy outlines the policy focus towards stimulating effective take-up and use of ICT. The strategy aims to address the digital divide that currently sees some groups excluded from the benefits to be gained from the internet.
	The UK has over 10 million broadband subscribers and there are over a quarter of a million new subscribers each month. Broadband prices are falling and speeds are increasing. As new technologies emerge, consumer choice increases, making broadband a more accessible and popular option. Broadband is available to 99.8 per cent. of households. I also understand that it is likely that the target set by the Telecommunications Adjudicator, for 1.5 million lines to be unbundled from the local loop network by April 2007, will be met by the end of 2006.

Business Review

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2006,  Official Report, column 851W, on the Business Review, by what criteria companies are expected to assess whether a contractual or supplier relationship is necessary to understand the development, performance or position of their business when deciding what to include in the Business Review under Clause 399 of the Company Law Reform Bill; and whether guidance will be issued on this matter.

Margaret Hodge: It is for the directors to judge whether and what information about a contractual or supplier relationship is necessary to provide a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the development, performance and position of the company's business consistent with the size and complexity of the business. The Accounting Standards Board will review its best practice guidance to ensure that it remains up to date in light of the outcome of the parliamentary consideration of the Bill. It is for shareholders to hold the directors to account.

Business Review

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the statement by the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions to Standing Committee D on 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 703, on clause 399 of the Company Law Reform Bill, by what criteria he expects companies to assess whether a contractual or other relationship is essential to the business and therefore required to be included in the Business Review by subsection (4) of clause 399.

Margaret Hodge: Subsection (4) of clause 399 of the Company Law Reform Bill requires the directors' Business Review to be a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the development, performance and position of the company's business consistent with the size and complexity of the business. It is for the directors to judge whether and what information about a contractual or supplier relationship is necessary to be included in the review and for the shareholders to hold the directors accountable for the information provided in their review.

Business Start-ups (South-East London)

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to promote  (a) investment in industry and  (b) business start-ups in South East London.

Margaret Hodge: Responsibility for the promotion of investment in industry and business start-ups in South East London (Bexley, Lewisham and Greenwich) rests primarily with partner organisations managed by the London Development Agency (LDA).
	Inward investment promotion and business retention activities are delivered through the agencies of Think London and Gateway to London. Support for business start-ups is delivered via the Business Link Information, Diagnosis and Brokerage Service and London's Enterprise Agencies.
	The LDA has developed a number of programmes and grant schemes specifically designed to assist business start-ups and investment in industry with delivery undertaken by local delivery organisations in South East London. The LDA has also invested in South East London as a location for business by promoting developments including Woolwich Arsenal, Thamesmead and Belvedere/Erith.
	The Government office for London and the LDA are working with all local authorities and other public funded bodies across the capital in the development of local area agreements (LAAs). An element of the agreements is specifically aimed at encouraging strategic economic development and enterprise growth, drawing together a wide range of existing funding streams and appropriate measures and resources.

Citizens Advice Bureau

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the contribution to the Citizens Advice Bureaux from  (a) local authorities and  (b) central government in each of the last five years.

Ian McCartney: Nearly 600 Citizens Advice Bureaux operate independently as a number of separate charities each covering one, or more, operating location(s). Records are not kept centrally of their funding levels and sources.
	Details of funding received by the headquarters bodies (Citizens Advice, and Citizens Advice Scotland) are to be found in their annual reports in the Libraries of the House.

Clean Coal

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will fund a clean coal integrated carbon capture demonstration project; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The newly published Energy Review Report makes clear that the Government will formally launch a £10 million call during September 2006 as part of its Carbon Abatement Technologies Strategy. This call will focus on pre-commercial demonstration of key components and systems to support Carbon Abatement Technologies and will include Clean Coal and Carbon Capture and Storage technologies.

Clean Coal

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy to include clean coal production in his future energy plans.

Malcolm Wicks: The Carbon Abatement Technologies Strategy sets out the Government's role in supporting the development of low carbon technologies for fossil fuel power generation. These low carbon technologies include clean coal among others.

Company Reports

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans there are to require inclusion of information on social and environmental impact in reports for directors of public companies.

Ian McCartney: Under the Company Law Reform Bill, all companies, apart from small companies, will continue to be required to produce a Business Review, in accordance with the EU Accounts Modernisation Directive. Quoted companies, to the extent necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of their business, will need to include the main trends and factors likely to affect the company's business in the future and information about environmental matters (including the impact of the company's business on the environment), the company's employees and social and community issues. The review must include information about any policies of the company in relation to those matters and the effectiveness of those policies. All business reviews must be consistent with the size and complexity of each company's business and, to the extent necessary for an understanding of the company's business, include where appropriate analysis using key performance indicators relating to environmental matters and employee matters.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with  (a) the Treasury and  (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Darling: Ministers and officials have many discussions covering a wide range of issues including on spending.

Consultants

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much was spent on consultants by his Department in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 23 May 2006
	Central records indicate that the cost to the Department of engaging consultants in each of the following financial years has been:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 1999-2000 21 
			 2000-01 36 
			 2001-02 64 
			 2002-03 93 
			 2003-04 112 
			 2004-05 86 
			 2005-06 53.6 
		
	
	Information for years prior to 1999-2000 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the companies which were paid consultancy fees by his Department in 2005-06; how much each was paid; and what each of the companies was used to accomplish.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Central records indicate that the Department spent £53.6 million on consultancy services in financial year 2005-06.
	I have placed in the Libraries of the House a list of companies that submitted invoices to the Department for consultancy services in the financial year 2005-06.
	Further information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Consultations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many public consultations his Department undertook in the last year for which figures are available; and what the cost was  (a) in total and  (b) of each consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The total number of formal written consultations for the year to May 2006 is 88. Consultation exercises currently being run by the Department of Trade and Industry are published on the Department of Trade and Industry website http:www//dit.gov.uk.
	Costs are recorded centrally for all publications, by DTI's Publications Team. Costs for consultations only cannot be extracted without disproportionate cost.

Departmental Telephone Numbers

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the  (a) 0800,  (b) 0845 and  (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to him.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A number of "08" telephones services are administered by the Department for public use. From central records the information that can be provided on the Department's use of 0800, 0845 and 0870 telephone numbers is as follows:
	
		
			  Number  Department/Agency 
			  (a) 0800  
			 028 2138 Coal Health Claims Helpline 
			 373 317 Construction Market Intelligence 
			 585 794 Envirowise 
			   
			  (b) 0845  
			 001 0030 BS BLU line 
			 001 0031 SBS Helpline 
			 001 0032 SBS Small Firms Loan Guarantee 
			 015 0010 DTI Publication Orderline 
			 015 0020 DTI Publication Orderline (Fax) 
			 015 0030 DTI Publication Orderline (Minicom) 
			 019 0001 Personnel Training Services Consortium 
			 404 0506 Consumer Direct 
			 600 0678 National Minimum Wage 
			 600 9006 Business Link Helpline 
			 955 5105 Employment Agency Standards 
			   
			  (c) 0870  
			 191 0111 Biotech Support 
			 191 0112 Information Society Support 
			 191 0113 NMP Helpline 
			 191 0114 IST in Manufacturing 
			 191 0115 SME Helpline 
			 191 0116 Beta Technology (Research and Innovation Support) 
			 240 5927 FP6UK Helpline (Textphone) 
			 240 5929 FP6UK Helpline (Fax) 
			 600 6080 FP6UK Helpline 
			 606 1515 National IST Programme Helpline 
			 150 2100 DTI Publication Orderline(1) 
			 150 2300 DTI Publication Orderline(1) 
			 150 2333 DTI Publication Orderline(1) 
			 150 2500 DTI Publication Orderline(1) 
			 (1 )Currently discontinued and awaiting reallocation. 
		
	
	 Letter from Jeanne Spinks, dated 24 July 2006:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to him.
	The Employment Tribunals Services administers a public enquiry line to answer queries about the Employment Tribunals, provide information about tribunal publications and explain how the tribunal system works. The enquiry line number is 0845 795 9775, and the minicom number is 0845 757 3722.
	 Letter from Desmond Flynn, dated 24 July 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply to you directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect of your question (2005/3597) asking what a.) 0800, b) 0845 and c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public The Service administers.
	As at 6 March 2006 the answers were as follows:
	a.) 0800:
	The Service does not have any 0800 numbers.
	b.) 0845:
	The Service currently administers the following 0845 numbers:
	1. Redundancy Payments Helpline - 0845 145 0004.
	2. Enforcement hotline - 0845 601 3546.
	3. Online form service enquiry line - 0845 602 9848.
	In addition to the above numbers our website is also available via voice access on a 0845 number - 0845 333 0323.
	c.) 0870:
	The Service does not have any 0870 numbers.
	 Letter from Dr. Jeff Llewellyn, dated 24 July 2006:
	The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding listing (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies which report to him.
	NWML does not administer any 0800, 0845 or 0870 numbers.
	 Letter from Tim Moss, dated 24 July 2006:
	I am replying to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question 2005/3597, to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
	Question
	To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if he will list the (a) 0800, (b) 0845 and (c) 0870 telephone numbers for the public administered by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies with report to him. 56543.
	Answer
	Companies House operate the following Non-Geographical Numbers (NGN's)
	CHD Helpdesk — 0845 7573991
	Contact Centre — 0870 3333636
	Secure Directors Register — 0845 03032400.
	Officially, the SDR number and function is hosted by CH on behalf of the DTI and due to the security considerations involved is not for public consumption.
	 Letter from Ron Marchant, dated 24 July 2006:
	I am responding to this parliamentary question, tabled on 02 March 2006. The telephone numbers for the public administered by the Patent Office are as follows:
	Telephone; 0845 9 500 505
	Minicom (text phone); 0845 9 222 250

Disabled People

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's progress in fulfilling its statutory obligation as a public body of promoting the rights of disabled people.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 placed new duties on public authorities to promote equality for disabled people, 'the Disability Equality Duty'.
	The Department of Trade and Industry is currently planning a Disability Equality Scheme to be implemented by December 2006, and considering the scope of activities to be included in the progress report to be published by 1 December 2008.
	The Department promotes equality for disabled people through employment legislation and the promotion and publication of relevant information and guidance.

Doorstep Lending

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the net outflow in interest payments to doorstep lenders in each local authority area in the UK.

Ian McCartney: Information of this kind on individual credit agreements is not currently collected.
	However, according to the provisional findings of the Competition Commission's Home Credit Market Inquiry, home credit lenders collected around £1.9 billion in repayments from their customers in 2004.

Electricity Transmission

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that power producers reduce carbon dioxide emissions attributable to electricity transmission and distribution losses; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Power producers are strongly incentivised to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from all aspects of electricity production through the European Emissions Trading Scheme, which incentivises all installations it covers to reduce emissions in response to a carbon price. It is up to each installation to determine what measures it may take to reduce its emissions, which may include those attributable to transmission and distribution losses.
	In addition, power producers are specifically incentivised to reduce transmission and distribution losses through the requirement on all power producers using the transmission system to pay on a cost reflective basis. This aims to reflect the costs generators impose on the network to transfer electricity to where it is required. With 2 per cent. of electricity conveyed over the transmission network lost, through noise and heat, there is an environmental as well as economic case for having generation near to the main centres of electricity demand and the transmission charging system reflects this.
	About 6 per cent. of electricity conveyed over the distribution network is lost. Distribution Network Operators, as part of their regulated price controls, are incentivised to reduce these losses.

Energy Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to paragraphs 5.104 and 5.105 of the Energy Review, Cm 6887, what the reasons were for the choice of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency study to illustrate the comparative carbon footprint ranking of nuclear generation against other power generation sources; and which other analyses were examined on the comparative carbon footprint of different generation sources in the Energy Review.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 19 July 2006
	The Energy Review considered various studies on lifetime carbon emissions, including:
	Sustainable Development Commission—The Role of Nuclear in a Low Carbon Economy—Paper 2 Reducing CO2 Emissions—Nuclear and the Alternatives (2006)
	Japan Central Research Institute (1996)
	Sweden, Vattenfall (1999 and 2000)
	Finland, A Kivisto
	Germany, Institute for Applied Ecology (1997)
	Storm van Leeuven and Smith (SLS) (2001 to 2005)
	Torness—a study for BE by AEA Technology (2005)
	EC ExternE (2003)
	OECD estimates broadly reflect the range of nuclear lifecycle emissions estimates from this literature.

Energy Review

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment was made of the potential vulnerability of existing licensed nuclear sites to  (a) coastal erosion and  (b) inundation in the energy review.

Malcolm Wicks: Any new nuclear power stations would be proposed, developed, constructed and operated by the private sector. Industry has indicated that the most viable sites are likely to be adjacent to existing sites. Any developers will need to manage the possible risks of coastal erosion and flooding through active flood management plans, which must be approved by the safety regulator. Government committed in the energy review report to undertake a strategic siting assessment that would assist developers in identifying the most suitable sites for nuclear power stations.

Enterprise Initiatives

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps his Department has taken to increase enterprise in the West Suffolk constituency since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Through the Government office for the East of England and the East of England development agency (BEDA) the Department has made considerable progress in increasing enterprise across the region.
	The main initiatives have been through Business Link, 'SMART' Grants for research and development and community investment.
	The funding to support Business Link branded activities from 1 April 1997 through to 31 March 2006 has been derived from DTI, SBS, EEDA, DFES, DEFRA, the European Social Fund, European Structural Funds and from local authorities.
	The spending profile for the whole of Suffolk has risen from £1.658 million in 1997-98 to £4.948 million in 2004-05 with a total of £28.866 million spent across the whole of Suffolk since 1997 and circa £14 million in the west of the county.
	Delivery under the brand by Business Link and its partners has primarily consisted of the provision of information, advice, assisted consultancy, grants etc. and comprises a whole series of activities related to the start-up and the development of small medium enterprises.
	A total of £400,000 of funding has been raised for West Suffolk companies since 1997.
	There has also been Community investment of circa £2.3 million since 1997 which includes:
	Sudbury Community Energy SRB project—£1,087,700
	Working Together Suffolk Rural (County-wide)—£268,864
	Foundation East (formally Suffolk Regeneration Trust)—£814,000
	Approved enterprise activity in the 2006-07 Suffolk IiC business plan commencing shortly (some interventions county-wide)—£130,000.

Enterprise Initiatives

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government is taking to encourage enterprise among people aged over 30.

Margaret Hodge: The Government are pursuing a range of programmes to encourage enterprise in the over 30s.
	These include:
	Providing the information, advice and support needed for entrepreneurs to start, maintain and grow a business through the Business Link service in England, and its counterparts in the Devolved Administrations.
	Providing a targeted programme of support through the New Deal to suitable unemployed people, offering advice and training from a specialist provider.
	Pump priming the Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise (PRIME) with revenue and loan guarantee support through the DTI's Phoenix Fund. This has supported entrepreneurial activity amongst over 50's across the country.
	Creating a Taskforce on Women's Enterprise to accelerate the development of women's enterprise. Regional Development Agencies are piloting Women's Enterprise Units to trial different approaches to supporting the start-up and growth of women-owned businesses.
	Supporting a programme of activity led by the Ethnic Minority Business Forum to promote enterprise amongst ethnic minority groups. A three-year action plan was published in December 2005.
	Running 'Enterprising Britain', an annual national competition to find the country's most enterprising city, town, place or area, which showcases what is being done to support a stronger, more dynamic enterprise culture across the UK.
	Increasing the resources available to RDAs, all of whom are tasked with encouraging enterprise, with targets for the number of new businesses created and surviving in their regions.

Enterprise Insight

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed in each of the  (a) local and  (b) sectoral enterprise campaigns established by Enterprise Insight; when the recruitment process for these will be completed; what costs have been incurred in recruiting people for these posts; and when each campaign will be fully operational.

Margaret Hodge: All the Local and Sectoral Enterprise Campaign Hubs are expected to be fully functional by the end of September 2006.
	At present, one person has been appointed for the Lowestoft Local Enterprise Campaign Hub, and a further five people will be taking up their roles in other hubs over the next six weeks.
	Enterprise Insight aims to recruit a total of twenty-one people to work on these elements of their work. The recruitment process should be completed by the end of September 2006.
	Expenditure incurred to date on the recruitment for the Local and Sectoral Hubs is £49,284.

Enterprise Insight

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his Answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, column 135W, on Enterprise Insight, what targets have been set for Enterprise Week 2006; what funding was provided for Enterprise Insight in  (a) 2005-06 and  (b) 2004-05; and what funding has been allocated for (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09.

Margaret Hodge: Targets for Enterprise Insight in relation to Enterprise Week 2006 have been agreed as follows:
	Number of events in Enterprise Week 2006—3,000;
	Number of Enterprise Week 2006 participants—500,000;
	Number of teams taking part in the 2006 'Make Your Mark' Challenge—4,000;
	Number of entries to the 2006 Enterprising Young Brits —2,000;
	Editorial value of media coverage—£6.5million;
	Number of TV partners on board—8.
	The funding provided for Enterprise Insight in 2004-05 was £763,000, and in 2005-06 was £2 million. The funding allocated for Enterprise Insight for 2007-08 is £5 million as detailed in paragraph 16 of the 2004 Spending Review. No funding has yet been allocated for Enterprise Insight in 2008-09.

EU Convergence Funding

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what timetable has been set for the delivery of the EU Convergence Funding programme to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly between 2007 and 2013.

Margaret Hodge: The EU Institutions are currently finalising a new package of legislation to govern future Structural Funds Programmes for the 2007-13 financial period. All of the new legislation is expected to come into force in the autumn.
	Once the new legislation is agreed, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, like other UK regions, will need to submit a draft Operational Programme to the European Commission for negotiation and approval. Partners in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are currently working on producing a draft, which will in due course be submitted to a full consultation.
	The first budget commitment for the Operational Programme will be made by the Commission at the time that they adopt the decision approving the Operational Programme.
	However, expenditure will be eligible for a contribution from the Funds from 1 January 2007 or the date on which the European Commission deem the Operational Programme admissible if that occurs earlier.

EU Directives

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost was to his Department of implementing and administering EU directives, regulations and policies decided in 2005-06.

Ian McCartney: The Department hold no records centrally relating to the origin of regulations and policies. The length of development, negotiation and implementation varies enormously from policy to policy and it would be hard to obtain a meaningful figure. Deriving such figures would incur a disproportionate cost. All proposals, which impact on business, charities or the voluntary sector, require a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) which includes details of the costs, benefits and risks of the proposal. Costs to Government including enforcement costs are included in the RIA. Copies of final RIAs are placed in the Libraries of the House.

EU Directives

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many full-time equivalent staff are employed in his Department to implement and administer EU directives, regulations and policies.

Ian McCartney: The Department does not record the cost or the number of staff required for negotiating and implementing regulatory directives, regulations and policies emanating from Europe.

Food Trading Relationships

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many representations his Department has received on the trading relationships through the food supply chain from primary producers to supermarkets in each of the last three years.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, myself, our predecessors and DTI officials have received a significant number of representations, including from the Association of Convenience Stores, the British Retail Consortium, supplier representatives, the Independent Retailers Association, the National Consumer Council, individual members of the public, interested MPs and the major supermarkets.
	Figures for the number of representations are not held centrally.

Fuel Bills

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much on average domestic gas and electricity bills have increased in real terms between the first quarter of 2003 and the most recent quarter for which information is available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is as follows:
	Domestic gas prices have risen by 31 per cent. in real terms in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the first quarter of 2003. This increase has resulted in domestic gas prices being at their highest level since the third quarter of 1988.
	Domestic electricity prices have risen by 20 per cent. in real terms in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the first quarter of 2003. Despite this increase, prices are still 12 per cent. below 1990 levels in real terms.

Fuel Supply Mix Options

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the fuel supply mix options for the power generation sector that would be available should a policy decision be taken not to enable new nuclear plants to be built.

Malcolm Wicks: In its Energy Review Report, published on 11 July, the Government concluded that, over the next few years, new investment in power generation is likely to be in renewables and gas-fired power stations. Longer term there are other low carbon forms of generation that can contribute to meeting our goals. In particular, the Government concluded that new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals. It will be for the power sector to initiate, fund, construct and operate new power generation and to meet all associated costs.

Furniture Imports

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will reply to the letter of 18 April 2006 from the hon. Member for Billericay about sofas imported from eastern Europe.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 12 May 2006
	A response to this letter was sent on 24 May.

Grant Schemes

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much he expects will be distributed to companies under grant schemes administered by the Department in 2006-07.

Margaret Hodge: The Department of Trade and Industry expects to distribute £314 million to companies under the grant schemes for 2006-07.

Heat Delivery Networks

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what work his Department sponsors into the development of local distributed networks for heat delivery.

Malcolm Wicks: The DTI co-chairs with Ofgem the Electricity Networks Strategy Group. This is a body made up of industry representatives who advise on how the networks can help deliver energy goals. Work programmes, largely funded by the DTI, research a variety of issues. Previous work has addressed barriers which prevented distributed generation connecting to the network. This has helped remove barriers to the development of combined heat and power.

High Energy-Using Industries

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the change in the number of jobs in  (a) ceramics,  (b) glass,  (c) paper and  (d) other high energy using industries was in the last year for which figures are available.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Changes in the average yearly employment between 2003 and 2004 for the 15 highest energy using production industry groups (3-digit Standard Industrial Classification level, except for construction) in terms of consumption of tonnes of oil equivalents are shown in the table. Information is included for the ceramics production industry groups, which are not high energy using industries applying this definition.
	
		
			   UK energy consumption  Average yearly employment, UK 
			   2003 (Thousand)  2003 (Thousand)  2004 (Thousand)  Thousand  Percentage 
			 Manufacture of refined petroleum products(1) 5,625 26 25 -1 -4 
			 Manufacture of basic chemicals 4,935 62 60 -2 -3 
			 Manufacture of coke oven products(1) 3,422 26 25 -1 -4 
			 Manufacture of plastic products 2,089 187 187 0 0 
			 Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys 1,709 29 22 -7 -24 
			 Manufacture of other food products 1,220 193 186 -7 -4 
			 Manufacture of articles of paper and paperboard 1,161 69 66 3 -4 
			 Printing and service activities related to printing 1,118 185 170 -15 -8 
			 Manufacture of cement, lime and plaster 992 4 5 1 25 
			 Manufacture of basic precious and non-ferrous metals 967 20 20 0 0 
			 Manufacture of beverages 795 53 52 -1 -2 
			 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products 793 73 73 0 0 
			 Manufacture of rubber products 730 34 31 -3 -9 
			 Construction 727 1,329 1,347 18 1 
			 Manufacture of glass and glass products 716 33 31 -2 -6 
			 Manufacture of non-refractory ceramic goods other than for construction purposes; refractory ceramic products 137 24 22 -2 -8 
			 Manufacture of ceramic tiles and flags 14 2 3 1 50 
			 (1) Employment information provided for these industries is for the 2-digit manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel, as information at the 3-digit industry group level has been suppressed to avoid disclosure.  Sources: 1. DTI UK energy industrial consumption tables. 2. ONS Annual Business Inquiry.

Home Computer Initiative Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date his most recent assessment of the Home Computer Initiative scheme was passed to the Treasury; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 19 April 2006
	I would like to apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in replying to the matter raised. In response to his query I can confirm that the DTI have regular discussions with the Treasury on budgetary initiatives. We do not publish details of these for reasons of confidentiality.

Hydro Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the potential for development of low-head hydro power in  (a) the United Kingdom and  (b) Wales in the Energy Review.

Malcolm Wicks: In 1987 the then Department of Energy commissioned the University of Salford to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the economic potential for small-scale hydro-electric generation throughout the UK.
	The scope of the study extended to sites with installed capacities in the range 25kW to 5MW. Further limiting conditions were to disregard sites with hydraulic heads of less than 2 metres, with existing civil works, or less than 3 metres with no existing civil works.
	The comprehensive results of the study were published in report, "Small Scale Hydroelectricity Generation Potential in the UK" ETSU-SSH-4063 (Parts 1-3), a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Information Tribunal

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what dates communication between his Department and Treasury Counsel took place on the subject of Appeal No. EA/2005/0023 to the Information Tribunal, broken down by type of communication.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I can neither confirm nor deny whether communication of any type took place between the Department and Treasury Counsel in relation to the Appeal No. EA/2005/0023 to the Information Tribunal. There is a public interest that decisions taken by government are taken in a fully informed legal context, to ensure good decision-making. Disclosure of whether the Department has sought legal advice has a significant potential to prejudice the government's ability to defend its legal interests.
	The decision neither to confirm nor deny the existence of information in this case should not be taken as an indication that the information does, in fact, exist. The concern is to protect the public interest by ensuring that the Department is at all times able to seek legal advice in an uninhibited fashion where it is appropriate to do so.

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the value was of each IT contract awarded by his Department in each of the last five years; and who the contractor was in each case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has a main information technology contract which is a private finance initiative (PFI) agreement with Fujitsu Services and has been in place for more than five years. The Department has also recently awarded a competed services framework arrangement to six other suppliers and this will enable an element of additional competition for future IT projects. To-date no significant contracts have been awarded to these suppliers.
	For the Department's PFI agreement with Fujitsu, covering desktop services and application development and support, spend in the last five years has been:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2001-02 36 
			 2002-03 35 
			 2003-04 37 
			 2004-05 32 
			 2005-06 30

IT Contracts

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case.

Jim Fitzpatrick: During the last five years the Department has not abandoned any IT contracts awarded during that period. The Department has a main information technology contract which is a private finance initiative (PFI) agreement with Fujitsu Services and has been in place for more than five years. The Department has also recently awarded a competed services framework arrangement to six other suppliers but to-date no significant contracts have been awarded to these suppliers.

Local Distribution Grids

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the adequacy of investment in local distribution grids by the distribution network operators; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Price controls for the period 2005-10, which set the operational and capital expenditure for the 14 electricity distribution networks, were agreed between the regulator (Ofgem) and the distribution network operators in January 2005. Ofgem has to allow the networks sufficient revenue to invest in their businesses to deliver licence conditions, which include having safe and reliable networks. At the same time, Ofgem seeks to keep costs down for consumers. The reliability of the distribution networks in Britain has improved, with power cuts relating to underlying performance (i.e. taking out major storms) down by 16 per cent. since performance incentives were introduced in 2002.
	For the 2005-10 price control, £5.7 billion has been allowed for investment in the distribution networks. These allowances are 48 per cent. above the 2000-05 price control. Specific measures have been introduced to assist renewables and distributed generation. The 2005-10 price controls addresses three key areas: the need to increase investment and efficiency, to improve quality of service and to accommodate the growth in distributed generation.

Low Carbon Buildings

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of household grants applied for since the start of the Low Carbon Buildings programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The total value of household grants applied for since the start of the Low Carbon Buildings programme is £1,670,730. This figure represents applications received some of which will not go forward. Actual grants offered up to 7 July 2006 is £527,763.

Minimum Wage

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when his Department expects the next revision to the youth rate of the national minimum wage; what representations he has received on this matter; and what plans he has to make representations on this matter.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In line with the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission, on 1 October the development rate for 16-17 year olds will increase to £3.30 an hour.

Ministerial Meetings

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what trade-related  (a) missions he plans to undertake and  (b) meetings he plans to hold during the parliamentary recess.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry plans to visit Brazil in September, accompanied by a business delegation. During the recess he will continue to hold discussions on trade, investment and economic affairs, including with business, other non-governmental organisations, as well as European Union and non-European Union contacts, as necessary.

Ministerial Offices

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: During this period the walls of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's office were repainted in 2005.
	Additionally in 2002, some changes including redecoration were made to his office as part of a wider programme of works affecting the whole floor to make more efficient use of space and greater use of open plan working.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisors in his Department have stayed overnight in (i) five star, (ii) four star and (iii) three star hotels in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This information is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for  (a) civil servants and  (b) special advisers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Information on overnight accommodation broken down as requested is not available and could be made available only at disproportionate cost. The following table shows the total expenditure on hotel accommodation for both DTI officials and Ministers, split between the UK and overseas, in the last three years.
	
		
			  Expenditure on overnight accommodation for DTI Ministers and officials 
			  £ 
			  Financial year  UK hotels  Hotel overseas 
			 2003-04 130,000 105,000 
			 2004-05 345,000 340,000 
			 2005-06 476,000 469,000

New Power Stations

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account he takes of different levels of forecast emissions of carbon dioxide in determining planning applications for new power stations.

Malcolm Wicks: There are no set limits for emissions of carbon dioxide when considering power station applications. However the Environmental Impact Assessment which accompanies an application includes a statement on how the proposal contributes to meeting the Government's target to reduce emissions of gases which contribute to global warming and acid rain. In addition, and before any consent is granted, we need confirmation from the Environment Agency that the impact of emissions would not be detrimental to the health of people and flora and fauna.

NIREX

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Nuclear Waste Management Organisation plan to replace NIREX will be independent of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	Future policy, and arrangements for implementing this, will be decided by Government in light of the Committee for Radioactive Waste Management's (CoRWM) final recommendations. CoRWM's report is due to be delivered to Government at the end of this month. Government will make a formal response to their report after the recess when the UK Government and Devolved Administrations are sitting.

Nuclear Power

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-76W, on nuclear power, what nuclear decommissioning activity has been undertaken since 1 April 2005; and at what site the clean-up activity took place.

Malcolm Wicks: Details of the decommissioning activity carried out since 1 April 2005 will be set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's (NDA) Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06. The accounts are currently being finalised and audited. They will be published and laid in the House in due course after they have been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Full details of all the NDA's activities can be found on its website:
	www.nda.gov.uk

Nuclear Power

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports his Department has received which identify sites suitable for building nuclear power stations in addition to those presently in service.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department has received no such reports identifying new potential sites for nuclear power stations.

October Bank Holiday

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward legislation to amend the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 to provide for an additional bank holiday on the last Monday in October each year; what recent representations he has received calling for an additional bank holiday; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government receive a variety of suggestions for new or different bank holidays. The present pattern of bank holidays is well established and accepted, and we have no current plans to change the arrangements.
	The Government are currently consulting on proposals to increase the statutory annual leave entitlement to ensure that time off equivalent to bank and public holidays is additional to the existing annual leave entitlement.

Outsourcing

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what administrative functions for which his Department is responsible are outsourced overseas; and what assessment he has made of the merits of outsourcing further such functions overseas.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has not outsourced any of its administrative functions overseas nor are there currently any plans in place to do so.

Personal Debt

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account he has taken of increased casework caused by high levels of personal debt in the allocation of funding for donations to the Citizens Advice Bureaux by his Department.

Ian McCartney: The Citizens Advice Bureaux have been very successful in bidding for support under the £45 million Financial Inclusion Fund for debt advice. They have led 10 of the 16 selected advice-giving projects that have resulted in around £30 million of funds being granted to them. Their casework evidence was a crucial factor in deciding this allocation.

Peugeot

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what conditions were applied to the grant offer made to Peugeot in November for the manufacture of the 207 at Ryton; and what reasons were given to his Department for the refusal of the grant.

Margaret Hodge: The terms and conditions of the £14.4 million Regional Selective Assistance grant offered to Peugeot for the manufacture of the 207 model at Ryton are confidential between the Government and Peugeot. The company did not take up the offer as they decided not to proceed with the project.

Planning (Energy Generation)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what role  (a) he and  (b) ministers in his Department play in planning decisions for (i) new power plants and (ii) wind turbines.

Malcolm Wicks: Under the specialised regime of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 onshore power stations, however fuelled, over 50 MW and offshore renewable power stations over 1 MW, in England and Wales fall to the Secretary of State to determine. Onshore power station proposals of 50 MW or less are dealt with under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 by local planning authorities and Ministers in this Department have no role to play in deciding those applications.

Post Office Card Account

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people visited each of the post offices in Chorley constituency using the Post Office card account to withdraw  (a) benefit and  (b) pensions in the last 12 months.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I understand from Post Office Ltd. (POL) that the information is not available in the format requested. POL cannot provide a breakdown of which benefits customers are withdrawing cash for as they may have a range of benefits paid into a Post Office card account (POCA) and then withdraw cash from any Post Office branch via their POCA. Also, they do not capture information on which customers are making visits or their withdrawal pattern.

Renewable Energy

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will publish a consultation paper on banding the Renewables Obligation, as announced in the Energy Review Report.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government intend to publish the consultation document on the banding of the Renewables Obligation in the autumn this year.

Renewable Energy

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the outcome has been of the project for Renewable Energy Systems at Beaufort Court; how much public money was involved in the project; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Renewable Energy System's development at Beaufort Court has not received any financing from UK Government but has, according to the website (http://www.beaufortcourt.com), received funding from the European Union through the EC framework 5 programme

Royal Mail (Complaints)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints from customers were received by the Royal Mail  (a) nationally and  (b) in the York postal area (i) in 2005-06 and (ii) each of the previous four years; and whether it is the Government's policy that the Royal Mail should continue to publish information about complaints received in each post code area.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. Adam Crozier, the Chief Executive of Royal Mail has been asked to reply direct to my hon. Friend .
	Postcomm, the postal regulator is responsible for licensing postal operators. Under the terms of Royal Mail's licence they are required to publish details of complaints received, incorporating number of claims of compensation. They must be published in a manner that ensures reasonable publicity.

Russia

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has made to his Russian counterpart regarding security of British investments in Russia.

Ian McCartney: Senior officials have regular contact with the Russians on investment questions, including the importance of legal and administrative arrangements which secure and promote British investment in Russia. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not yet had the opportunity personally to meet his Russian counterparts but investment issues will form part of the discussion when he does.

Science Centres

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent meetings he has held with representatives of science centres to discuss their future role and funding.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning on 20 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 651-52W.

Small Businesses

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small businesses operated in  (a) Brent, East and  (b) Brent in each year since 1997.

Margaret Hodge: Estimates of the total number of small businesses are only available at a regional level. However, figures for the number of VAT registered businesses are available at the local level. Latest data on the stock of VAT registered businesses at the end of each year since 1997 are shown in the following table for  (a) Brent, East constituency and  (b) the London borough of Brent.
	
		
			  End year stock of VAT registered businesses, 1997-2004( 1) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Brent, East Constituency 2,755 2,855 2,960 2,920 2,965 2,990 3,035 3,015 
			 Brent Borough 7,750 8,045 8,260 8,385 8,430 8,450 8,550 8,560 
			 (1 )VAT registration and de-registration data are not available by size of business. However, in Brent borough 98 per cent. of the total stock of VAT registered businesses are small (0-49 employees).  Sources:  Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2004, Small Business Service, available from the Library of the House and also at http://WWW.sbs.gov.uk/vats Office for National Statistics, UK Business: Activity, Size and Location—2005, available from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=933 
		
	
	In Brent borough the stock of VAT registered businesses increased each year from 1997 to 2004, rising by 10 per cent. overall. In Brent, East the VAT registered stock rose by 9 per cent. between 1997 and 2004.
	Figures based on VAT registered businesses only do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if their turnover falls below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Only 1.8 million out of 4.3 million businesses (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2004.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many working days were lost to his Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Alistair Darling: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The average annual number of absent days per DTI (core DTI/HQ) employee in each year since 2000 is:
	
		
			   Headcount  Full-time equivalent 
			 2005 5.7 5.9 
			 2004 8.0 8.2 
			 2003 7.0 7.2 
			 2002 7.0 7.2 
			 2001 6.7 6.9 
			 2000 6.6 6.8 
		
	
	Using the figure of £1098 pa per person absent used in the "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service 2004" report, the estimated total cost of sick absence to DTI HQ in each year 2000 to 2005 is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005 79,056 
			 2004 129,564 
			 2003 114,192 
			 2002 109,800 
			 2001 101,016 
			 2000 98,820 
		
	
	The DTI does not hold the sick absence data for earlier than 2000.

Supermarket Code of Practice

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the Competition Commission,  (b) the Office of Fair Trading and  (c) the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the supermarket code of practice.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and Ministers meet with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Competition Commission (CC) and colleagues at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on a regular basis to discuss topics of mutual interest.
	The OFT referred the grocery market to the CC on 9 May for a market inquiry. Competition in the supermarket and grocery sectors is a matter for the independent competition authorities.

Television Licences

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussion took place between his Department and the BBC about the decision not to renew the contract for renewal and purchase of television licences supplied at post offices.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. The decision was a commercial one made by the BBC as the television licensing authority looking to the interests of licence fee payers and seeking to ensure the best deal for the public in this capacity.

TPS

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households have signed up to the Telephone Preference Service (TPS); and how many householders live in premises that are protected by TPS regulations by virtue of a previous occupant having registered with the service.

Margaret Hodge: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Direct Marketing Association runs the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) scheme under the terms of contract on behalf of the Office of Communications and the Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for enforcement. The TPS estimates that there are currently 12.7 million numbers registered with them. It should be noted that the TPS enables consumers to register individual telephone numbers including mobile numbers, rather than households. At the time of registration the TPS records the consumer's name, address and telephone number, but this does not give an accurate assessment of how many households are registered with the TPS.
	 (b) In view of the fact that the TPS registers individual numbers rather than households it is not possible to assess how many householders live in premises protected by the previous occupant's TPS registration. However, within the next 12 months the TPS intends to identify any TPS registered numbers, which were not registered by the current consumer and will contact them to confirm if they still wish to remain registered.

TPS

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals have registered with the Telephone Preference Service on more than one occasion.

Margaret Hodge: The Direct Marketing Association runs the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) scheme on behalf of the Office of Communications and the Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for enforcement. The TPS estimates that currently 833,825 consumers have registered the same number on more than one occasion with them. It should be noted that duplicate numbers are not present on the TPS register as they are removed when the TPS carries out their checks to update their records.

TPS

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been made against the 10 companies breaching Telephone Preference Service regulations most frequently in the last 12 months.

Margaret Hodge: The Direct Marketing Association runs the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) scheme on behalf of the Office of Communications and the Information Commissioner's Office has responsibility for enforcement. The TPS records indicate that the total number of complaints made against the top 10 companies for 2005 was 7,701. It should be noted that this figure includes complaints where consumers may not have been registered with the TPS or had not allowed the necessary 28 days to elapse before their registration took effect.

Trade Descriptions Act

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of the Trade Descriptions (Place of Production) (Marking) Order 1988; how many  (a) individuals and  (b) companies have been prosecuted under this Order and the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 in each year since 1989; and what recent representations he has received on the operation of this Order.

Ian McCartney: According to information obtained from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the number of prosecutions notified to them by Trading Standards Services under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 in each year since 1989 are:
	
		
			   Individuals  Companies  Total 
			 1989 974 448 1,422 
			 1990 1,083 422 1,505 
			 1991 1,111 381 1,492 
			 1992 1,405 395 1,800 
			 1993 1,527 387 1,914 
			 1994 1,234 310 1,544 
			 1995 1,204 318 1,522 
			 1996 847 281 1,128 
			 1997 871 345 1,216 
			 1998 756 238 994 
			 1999 599 162 761 
			 2000 441 154 595 
			 2001 563 168 731 
			 2002 361 114 475 
			 2003 426 151 577 
			 2004 294 86 380 
			 2005 285 76 361 
			 2006 130 34 164 
			 Total 14,111 4,470 18,581 
		
	
	OFT confirm that they received no details of any prosecutions made under the Trade Descriptions (Place of Production) (Marking) Order 1988, which was repealed in 1996 by the Trade Descriptions (Place of Production) (Marking) (Revocation) Order 1996.

UK Trade

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of UK trade was with  (a) Romania and  (b) Bulgaria in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ian McCartney: The percentage of total UK trade with Romania in 2005 was 0.3 per cent. The percentage of total UK trade with Bulgaria in 2005 was 0.08 per cent.

UK Trade

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of how UK trade with  (a) Romania and  (b) Bulgaria will develop once those nations have joined the European Union.

Ian McCartney: Assessments carried out by United Kingdom Trade and Investment conclude that a growing level of interest in Bulgaria and Romania from UK business in the lead up to EU membership will increase yet further on accession because of the opportunities it affords. Furthermore EU accession in itself is only one of the catalysts for increased opportunity. Growing economic prosperity, the development of a market economy and rising standards of living will contribute to this process as well and are already well under way in the countries.

VAT

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses were registered for VAT in each region in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Margaret Hodge: The latest available information on VAT registrations by region is published in "VAT Registrations UK, Country, Government Office Region, County, District and Constituency 1994-2004", a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.
	This information is also available from the Small Business Service website at: www.sbs.gov.uk/vats (Table la).

World Trade Organisation Negotiations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK Government's position is on including services and trade facilitation in the Doha Round of World Trade Organisation negotiations.

Ian McCartney: The UK remains strongly committed to ensuring an ambitious and pro-development outcome to the Doha Round that provides real benefits to developing countries and an overall stimulus to world trade in goods and services. The inclusion of services and trade facilitation in the Doha Ministerial Declaration that launched the Round in 2001 was welcomed by the UK Government. Both are important elements of the ambitious and balanced final agreement that is our objective for these negotiations, towards which we continue to work.

Youth Training

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to re-organise the system of training initiatives for young people; and what the rationale was behind launching Great Expectations.

Margaret Hodge: There are no plans in England to reorganise training for young people. The successful apprenticeships programme remains the primary vocational route for young people into skilled jobs.
	Great Expectations is an Enterprise Challenge in which young people assume the roles of entrepreneurs. The strategic aims was to promote an entrepreneurial culture to young people through forms of delivery that excited interest, inspired and provided role models to young people.
	It is included by Careers Scotland in their portfolio of schemes on offer in Scotland.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information his Department holds on  (a) publicly owned and  (b) privately owned companies which are trading with Zimbabwe.

Ian McCartney: Data are not available on which UK companies are trading with Zimbabwe. Information on the main exports and imports by product was provided in response to Parliamentary Question: 2005/5083.

Zimbabwe

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations have been made to his Department regarding the actions of UK companies in Zimbabwe.

Ian McCartney: As stated in my reply of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 148-150W there are no sanctions or embargoes against British companies doing business in Zimbabwe.
	We do not maintain a separate record of representations made to this Department on Zimbabwe.

TREASURY

Access to Work Scheme

Roger Berry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many disabled staff in his Department received support through the Access to Work scheme  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) in 2006-07.

John Healey: Applications for support through the Access to Work Scheme, made via the Treasury's diversity team are in the following table:
	
		
			   Applications to Access to Work Scheme 
			 2001 (1, 2)— 
			 2002 (1, 2)— 
			 2003 1 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 2 
			 2006-07 0 
			 (1 )Data not available (2) Records on applications to the Access to Work Scheme were kept from late 2003 onwards as the Treasury moved towards implementing a central reasonable adjustments budget (April 2004) and a more streamlined process for putting in place reasonable adjustments for its employees.

Advertising Campaigns

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advertising campaigns the Department ran between 2000 and June 2004; and what the  (a) date and  (b) cost was of each.

John Healey: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) and the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on 6 July 2005,  Official Report, column 433W.

Alcohol Tax

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the consistency with which different strengths of alcohol are taxed.

John Healey: There are historic disparities in the rate at which different alcohol products are taxed. Since 1998, Government policy has been to seek a fairer balance of taxation between different alcohol products.

Business Energy Supplies Group

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who the members of the group examining the provision of information and support on energy efficiency to business chaired by the Financial Secretary and Mr. Richard Ellis are; and when it has met.

John Healey: Budget 2006 announced that the Financial Secretary and Richard Ellis would co-chair a group to examine how best to provide information and support to business on energy efficiency. This group met recently. The organisations represented at this meeting were: the Carbon Trust, the CBI, the EEF, the British Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses.

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings  (a) he and  (b) Ministers in his Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and (2) in person to policy discussions in his Department since 1 January 2004.

John Healey: As part of the normal process of contact with business, Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of individuals and organisations. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's usual practice to provide details of all such meetings. Treasury meetings are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, as appropriate.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the value of contracts held by his Department with  (a) Capita plc and  (b) its subsidiaries was in the last three financial years;
	(2)  how many tenders  (a) Capita plc and  (b) its subsidiaries have submitted to his Department in each of the last three years; and how many tenders were successful;
	(3)  how many contracts his Department holds with  (a) Capita plc and  (b) its subsidiaries which still have a potential duration of five years or more;
	(4)  how much business his Department has placed with  (a) Capita Group plc and  (b) its subsidiaries in each of the last five years; what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by his Department; for which current tenders issued by his Department (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries have been invited to bid; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have seconded staff (1) temporarily and (2) on a longer-term basis to (X) his Department and (Y) its agencies.

John Healey: Any consultant engaged by a Department needs to pass through a rigorous and transparent procurement process in line with EU procurement directives.
	Like every other Government Department the Treasury's annual accounts are scrutinised by the House and by the NAO.
	The Treasury has two contracts with Capita. At no time was there any ministerial involvement in the contracts mentioned.
	Figures for the costs of using consultants, including Capita, were released in a freedom of information request to the BBC on 23 January and have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	There are no staff seconded by Capita or its subsidiaries to the Treasury or its agencies.

Caravan Parks

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of people live in caravan parks in each local authority area in England and Wales in descending order according to percentage of the population resident in such parks.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	I am replying as National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of people live in caravan parks in each local authority area in England and Wales in descending order according to percentage of the population resident in that way. (88287)
	The nearest information available from the 2001 census is accommodation type which includes a category for "caravans or other mobile or temporary structures". This includes caravans that are not in parks and other mobile structures such as boats. The data was published in table S050 in the "Census 2001 National report for England and Wales pt 1" which is available in the House of Commons library. However for convenience the relevant columns have been extracted and placed separately in the House of Commons library.

Casinos

Hugo Swire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have held meetings in the last 12 months with casino operators interested in securing licences under the Gambling Act 2005; where each meeting took place; and what was discussed.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy analysis, development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Company Acquisitions

Tim Yeo: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what data are collected by the Government related to  (a) the acquisition of companies financed by the (i) exchange and (ii) issue of shares and  (b) the financial performance of such companies, with particular reference to patterns of investment by them.

Edward Balls: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what data is collected by the Government related to (a) the acquisition of companies financed by the (i) exchange and (ii) issue of shares and (b) the financial performance of such companies, with particular reference to patterns of investment by them. (87131) The data requested are not available. However, ONS publish data on acquisitions in the UK by UK companies that are funded by share issues and exchanges. Table 9 of the ONS Mergers and Acquisitions First Release provides a breakdown of this information. Information is not collected on whether the shares involved are existing shares or new issues of shares.
	This can be found using the following weblink:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=72&Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=208

Consultancy Firms

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to collect centrally information on consultancy firms hired by Government Departments.

John Healey: OGC does not hold central information on public sector spend on consultancy and currently there are no plans to start to do so.

Copyright (Sports Sector)

Joan Walley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will ask the Gowers Intellectual Property review team to include within its terms of reference copyright issues affecting the sports sector;
	(2)  if he will ask the Gowers Intellectual Property review team to examine the impact of the EC Database Directive 1996 on the  (a) English and  (b) Scottish football leagues' right to charge betting companies for the use of their fixtures lists.

John Healey: Mr. Andrew Gowers has been asked to conduct an independent review into the intellectual property system, to ensure it is fit for the digital age. The published terms of reference for the review are as follows:
	The review will provide an analysis of the performance of the UK IP system, including inter alia,
	the way in which Government administers the awarding of IP and their support to consumers and business;
	how well businesses are able to negotiate the complexity and expense of the copyright and patent system, including copyright and patent licensing arrangements, litigation and enforcement; and
	whether the current technical and legal IP infringement framework reflects the digital environment, and whether provisions for 'fair use' by citizens are reasonable.
	The Government have previously committed to examining whether the current term of copyright protection on sound recordings and performers' rights is appropriate. This will also be conducted within the review.
	This review is independent of Government, and Mr. Andrew Gowers is responsible for identifying and prioritising the issues of prime importance within the overall terms of reference outlined above. He will be making recommendations to Government toward the end of 2006 to address these issues.

Databases

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has given the Home Secretary on managing complex computer databases.

Stephen Timms: The Office of Government Commerce, through its Gateway Review process, advises all Departments on acquisition and procurement projects.

Defence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public spending on defence was in each year since 1997 in  (a) cash terms,  (b) at 2006 prices and  (c) as a percentage of gross domestic product.

Stephen Timms: Final outturn figures for defence spending in financial years 1997-98 to 2004-05, expressed in terms of 2004-05 prices, and as a percentage of GDP, can be found in Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis 2006, tables 3.2 and 3.4 respectively. GDP deflators to adjust this data to 2005-06 prices are available on the Treasury website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/255/F4/gapdeflators_300606.xls
	In addition, defence final outturn figures for 2005-06 can be found in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-06.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on hotels  (a) in the UK and  (b) abroad by his Department's employees in the last 12 months.

John Healey: I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) on 24 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1850W.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on heating his Department's buildings in London in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The Treasury's heating is provided by the Whitehall District Heating System operated by OGCbuying solutions. The Whitehall District Heating System also supplies the Treasury's hot water except in the summer months. The total cost of the Treasury's use of the system since 2002-03 is set out in the following table. Figures for years prior to 2002-03 could be provided only at disproportionate cost due to a change in accounting system in that year.
	
		
			   £000 
			 2002-03 492 
			 2003-04 381 
			 2004-05 336 
			 2005-06 310

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on artwork in each year since 1997.

John Healey: There was no spending by the Treasury on works of art in 2005-06. In relation to previous years, I refer to the answers given to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 8 December 2003,  Official Report, column 333W, and to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T.C. Davies) on 1 November 2005,  Official Report, column 984W.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the total amount spent in a year on lighting his Department's buildings in London.

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on electricity use in each year since 2003-04.

John Healey: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 10 October 2005,  Official Report, column 332W. Spending by the Treasury on electricity in 2005-06 was £431,000.
	Disaggregated figures for lighting, separate from other electricity use, are not available.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies of his Department spent on water and sewage services in each year since 2003-04.

John Healey: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 10 October 2005,  Official Report, column 332W. Spending by the Treasury and its agencies in 2005-06 was as follows.
	
		
			  2005-06  Spending (£) 
			 HMRC and VOA 3,339,547 
			 HMT 21,575 
			 OGC and OGC Buying Solutions 25,595 
			 ONS (1)— 
			 GAD 2,246 
			 DMO (2)— 
			 NS&I (3)— 
			 Royal Mint 371,384 
			 (1) Information not yet available. (2) DMO costs are included in the service charge and disaggregated data for water and sewerage services is unavailable. (3) NS&I occupy a MOTO agreement with HMRC. Costs are included in the facilities charge and disaggregated data for water and sewerage services is unavailable.

Departmental Guidance

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he has issued to employees in his Department on  (a) saving water,  (b) conserving heat and  (c) reducing electricity consumption.

John Healey: Treasury employees are encouraged to reduce utility consumption and wastage of resources routinely. The department works closely with contractors and staff to improve the efficient use of the building and workplace.

Departmental Staff (Sickness Absence)

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2006,  Official Report, column 414W, on sickness absence, to what he attributes the rise in the number of staff with  (a) two,  (b) three,  (c) four and  (d) five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years.

John Healey: Staff absenteeism recorded as sickness absence in each year since 1997 is contained in Cabinet Office publication of an annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service". This report gives a detailed analysis of the civil service data, including patterns, frequency and reasons for absence.
	This is available in the Library and on the civil service website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/occupational_health/publications/index.asp.

Departmental Water Use

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) sprinklers and  (b) irrigation systems are used by (i) his Department and (ii) other departments for which he is responsible in London.

John Healey: There are no sprinklers and one irrigation system in the Treasury building at 1 Horse Guards Road. Information on other London based Departments is not held centrally and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Doha Round

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he plans to take over the next month to encourage revival of the Doha round of trade talks.

John Healey: As the Chancellor set out in his Mansion House speech on 21 June, the most powerful pro-globalisation signal we can send is to make possible the increase in world trade that an ambitious WTO settlement would bring.
	The need for an ambitious and pro-development outcome to the Doha round of trade talks was a key message of the UK presidencies in 2005. This was reiterated by G8 heads of government at their St. Petersburg summit on 15-17 July 2006, where they noted their commitment to the development dimension of Doha, and urged all parties to work with the utmost urgency for the conclusion of the round by the end of 2006. As the G8 concluded, all countries should commit to the concerted leadership and action needed to reach a successful conclusion to the Doha round.
	To this end Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings, conversations and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals as part of the process of policy development, analysis and delivery, including WTO and ED member states.

Dual Flush Toilets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many dual flush toilets there are in his Department.

John Healey: All of the 144 toilets in the Treasury building at 1 Horse Guards Road have a dual flush facility.

ECOFIN

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which of the proposals tabled by the UK presidency at the December ECOFIN meeting regarding the next steps towards better European regulation have been implemented by  (a) the UK and  (b) other member states.

Edward Balls: At the December 2005 ECOFIN, the UK, Austria and Finland issued a joint-presidency discussion paper setting out areas for future work by the Commission working together with member states to improve the regulatory framework in Europe. Since December progress has been made in a number of areas. The Commission has been piloting administrative burden measurement and plans to identify priority areas for action and options for setting targets to reduce administrative costs by the end of the year, enabling concrete proposals to be made next year. The Commission is also reviewing its Impact Assessment procedures and its processes for consulting with stakeholders and is due to report on progress on its simplification plan in the autumn.
	The UK continues to take the lead in pushing for Better Regulation in Europe while in the UK we are pressing ahead with implementation of the Hampton review recommendations on risk-based enforcement and the assessment of administrative burdens.

Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the reference to the high-level group in paragraph 3.103 of HC 968, the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report and Financial Statement and Budget Report, March 2006, who the members of the group are; on what dates it has met; when it will announce a strategy; and if he will place in the Library the minutes of its meetings.

Edward Balls: The Treasury will announce publicly the composition of the high-level group when it meets for the first time in the autumn, following a series of meetings at official level which have been under way since the spring. The Treasury will make an announcement on the strategy before the end of the year.

Financial Consumer Education

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether  (a) his Department and  (b) the Financial Services Authority has assessed the merits of setting up a stand-alone financial consumer education initiative.

Edward Balls: The Financial Services Authority (FSA), in partnership with the Government, the financial services industry and voluntary organisations, leads the national strategy for financial capability.
	In March 2006 the FSA published "Delivering Change", which sets out how it plans to improve financial capability in partnership with others. (http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/other/fincap_delivering.pdf). The programme includes promoting financial education in schools and in the workplace. The FSA also publishes information for consumers on its website including tools and resources for schools, young adults, workplace, new parents and two online consumer tools (the debt test and the financial healthcheck).
	The Government have given strong support to the strategy and I announced last week that we would publish a 10-year strategy on financial capability and inclusion in the autumn.

Financial Consumer Education

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for changes in spending on financial consumer education in connection with his target to educate all children in financial matters.

Edward Balls: The Financial Services Authority (FSA), in partnership with the Government, the financial services industry and voluntary organisations leads the national strategy for financial capability. One of the strands of the national strategy—"Learning Money Matters"—will provide schools with a comprehensive one-stop shop for help, support and advice to help them deliver effective personal finance education to their pupils. Learning Money Matters will be delivered by pfeg (the Personal Finance Education Group), an independent charity that works with schools to promote personal finance education for young people. The target is to reach 1.8 million children in 4,000 schools by 2010-11 to improve their financial knowledge, understanding and confidence.
	While total costs incurred by all partners are not available, the FSA's contributions to financial capability (for all aspects not just schools) were £2.5 million in 2003-04, £4 million in 2004-05 and £8 million in 2005-06 and up to £10 million for 2006-07.
	What is clear is that improving financial capability is a long-term initiative. The 10-year strategy that I announced last week will take an in-depth look at how the Government can best contribute.

Financial Services Authority

Charles Walker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress the Financial Services Authority has made in enforcing testable business continuity planning among its members; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The UK financial authorities (HM Treasury, Bank of England and FSA) work together closely to ensure that the financial sector is prepared for and able to respond to disruptive events. The FSA has responsibility for ensuring that the firms it regulates have business continuity plans in place, and provides the lead for the authorities in the areas of benchmarking and testing.
	The FSA launched the Resilience Benchmarking Project in 2005 to assess the overall resilience of the financial sector. Findings were published in a Discussion Paper on 14 December and a draft Business Continuity Management Guide was recently issued for consultation.
	The FSA also organises an annual market-wide exercise to test the contingency arrangements of the financial authorities with market participants.

Fundamental Savings Review

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Members for Bosworth (David Tredinnick) and for Livingston (Jim Devine) of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1470, on the Fundamental Savings review, whether trading enterprises owned by the public sector will be sold off in the planned sale of assets.

Stephen Timms: The 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) will take forward the Government's objective of realising £30 billion of asset disposals by 2010, and will examine options for disposing of other public assets, including public corporations and trading funds.

Gershon Review

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change has been in staff numbers in Departments subject to Gershon review reduction.

Stephen Timms: As announced in "Releasing Resources to meet the challenges ahead: value for money in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review", by the end of March 2006 departments had delivered more than half of the 84,000 workforce reductions planned by 2007-08 with 45,547 gross reductions.
	Departments publish data on the size of their workforce in their annual reports. The relationship between this data and the data used to measure progress against the SR04 Efficiency programme is set out in the technical note published by the Cabinet Office; (http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management/statistics/publications/doc/workforce_reductions_tech_ note.doc).

Home Information Packs

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment  (a) his Department and  (b) the Bank of England has made of the potential effect of home information packs on the economy.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government recently published an assessment of the impact of Home Information Packs in a regulatory impact assessment accompanying regulations made under Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004. This assessment will be updated in the light of the findings of a baseline study of the home buying and selling process reporting later this year, information obtained during the dry-run of Home Information Packs, other research commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and in consultation with HM Treasury and Bank of England.

Household Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of families with three or more children in which neither parent works lived in each county in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many and what percentage of families with three or more children in which neither parent works for each county in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland in the most recent year.
	The table overleaf gives the estimates of the number and the percentage of families with three or more children for the three months ending June 2005. It shows people resident in the counties and unitary authorities in the UK.
	Estimates are taken from the Office for National Statistics' Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Families with three or more dependent children in which neither parent works by area of usual residence  Not seasonally adjusted 
			   Families with three or more children 
			  Three months ending June 2005  In which neither parent works (000)  As percentage of all such families 
			 United Kingdom 99 8.6 
			 England (1) 85 8.8 
			 Cheshire 2 12.4 
			 Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly 1 12.5 
			 Devon 1 7.9 
			 Lancashire 3 13.2 
			 Lincolnshire 2 14.1 
			 North Yorkshire 1 18.6 
			 Tyne and Wear Met County 1 5.4 
			 Greater Manchester Met County 4 7.1 
			 Merseyside Met County 3 9.9 
			 South Yorkshire Met County 2 12.9 
			 West Yorkshire Met County 4 10.1 
			 West Midlands Met County 6 11.5 
			 Inner London 15 18.2 
			 Outer London 11 11.7 
			 Leicester UA 1 14.4 
			 Medway UA 1 20.0 
			 Portsmouth UA 1 20.4 
			 Wales (2) 5 9.3 
			 Scotland (2) 5 6.3 
			 Northern Ireland 4 8.6 
			 (1) Includes estimates for counties not listed for which sample sizes are too small to provide reliable estimates. (2 )Small sizes for all individual counties in Wales and Scotland are too small to provide estimates.  Source:  ONS Labour Force Survey

International Finance Facility

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which countries have committed to joining the international finance facility; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The international finance facility for immunisation was launched on 9 September 2005 by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), with announcements of financial contributions from the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden. Norway, Brazil and South Africa have also agreed to contribute financially, their contributions were announced in December 2005, March 2006 and April 2006 respectively.
	IFFIm will provide $4 billion over 10 years to support vaccinations in the world's poorest countries. We expect the first IFFIm disbursement to developing countries to take place later this year, and it is estimated that the frontloaded IFFIm resources will save a total of 10 million lives.

International Finance Facility

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the first bond issue will be made under the international finance facility for immunisation; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: The international finance facility for immunisation (IFFIm) was launched in September 2005 with contributions from France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, as well as the UK. Norway, Brazil and South Africa have since pledged contributions. The first IFFIm bonds will be issued in the next few months, and we expect that the IFFIm will begin purchasing vaccines and delivering these to the poorest countries through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) before the end of the year.

Inward Investment

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of inward investment in  (a) Houghton and Washington East constituency and  (b) Sunderland city council area in each year since 1997.

Stephen Timms: The Office for National Statistics has reported levels of private sector investment in NUTS 1 regions and NUTS 2 sub-regions between 1998 and 2000 in table 17 of Economic Trends, December 2003 and can be viewed at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/economic_trends/ETDecCope.pdf
	More recent information on private sector investment at the regional level only can be accessed at:
	http://www.dtistats.net/sd/rci/
	Public sector investment can be viewed in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses.

Life Expectancy

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the life expectancy is in each London borough, broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) ethnicity.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the life expectancy is in each London borough broken down by  (a) sex and  (b) age. (87508)
	Figures on life expectancy at birth for local authorities, including London boroughs, are published annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for males and females, based on three-year rolling averages. Results from 1991-93 to 2002-04 are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=8841
	ONS does not publish life expectancy results for other ages. Figures for life expectancy at age 65 for local authorities have however previously been calculated for the most recent time period available, 2002-04. Figures for London boroughs are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Life expectancy at age 65 by London borough( 1) , 2002-04( 2) 
			   Life expectancy at age 65 (years) 
			  London borough  Males  Females 
			 Barking and Dagenham 15.1 18.3 
			 Barnet 17.7 20.4 
			 Bexley 17.1 19.3 
			 Brent 17.3 20.8 
			 Bromley 17.5 20.4 
			 Camden 16.6 19.6 
			 Croydon 17.1 19.2 
			 Ealing 16.7 20.0 
			 Enfield 16.8 19.6 
			 Greenwich 15.3 19.1 
			 Hackney 16.8 20.1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 17.1 21.0 
			 Haringey 15.8 19.4 
			 Harrow 18.1 21.0 
			 Havering 16.5 19.2 
			 Hillingdon 16.7 19.7 
			 Hounslow 15.8 18.6 
			 Islington 15.9 18.6 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 20.4 23.4 
			 Kingston upon Thames 17.4 19.4 
			 Lambeth 16.1 18.9 
			 Lewisham 15.6 18.3 
			 Merton 17.3 20.5 
			 Newham 15.7 18.5 
			 Redbridge 16.9 19.6 
			 Richmond upon Thames 17.5 20.3 
			 Southwark 16.3 19.5 
			 Sutton 17.3 19.2 
			 Tower Hamlets 15.6 18.4 
			 Waltham Forest 15.6 18.8 
			 Wandsworth 16.3 19.1 
			 Westminster 18.0 21.4 
			 (1 )City of London has been excluded because of small numbers of deaths and populations in this area. (2 )Results are based on deaths registered in 2002-04 and mid-year population estimates for these years.

Merlin Biosciences

David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has met  (a) Sir Christopher Evans and  (b) representatives of Merlin Biosciences Limited on official business in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: As part of the normal process of contact with business, Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of individuals and organisations. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's usual practice to provide details of all such meetings. Treasury meetings are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, as appropriate.

Ministerial Meetings

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what trade related  (a) missions he plans to undertake and  (b) meetings he plans to hold during the parliamentary recess.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals throughout the year as part of the process of policy development, analysis and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of every such meeting.

Ministerial Offices

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The Chancellor's office was decorated once during this period as part of the refurbishment of 1 Horse Guards road.

Ministerial Visits

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which countries he has visited in Africa since 1997; and what the  (a) dates,  (b) objectives and  (c) outcomes were of each visit.

John Healey: Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Information for 2005-06 is currently being compiled and will be published shortly. All ministerial travel by Treasury Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code and Travel" by Ministers.

Ministerial Visits

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when and for how long he has visited  (a) each member state of the European Union,  (b) Japan,  (c) India,  (d) Brazil,  (e) Canada,  (f) New Zealand,  (g) Australia,  (h) South Korea,  (i) Russia,  (j) Singapore,  (k) Thailand and  (l) Mexico since 1997.

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1643W, on his official visit (Nigeria), what the normal procedures are; and on what date they were completed.

John Healey: Appropriate parties were notified prior to the visit. In addition the visit itself was widely publicised before it happened.

Ministry of Defence

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to Releasing the resources to meet the challenge ahead, Cm 6889, what reduction in the administration budget he will require of the Ministry of Defence.

Stephen Timms: While the Government are committed to controlling the overheads of all Government Departments, "Releasing the resources to meet the challenge ahead" cm 6889 does not set targets for individual Government Departments. The Government have affirmed their commitment to bear down on administration costs over the CSR period.

MRSA

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many MRSA-related deaths there have been in  (a) the UK and  (b) each region in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many MRSA-related deaths there have been in (a) the UK and (b) each region in each of the last five years.
	Figures on deaths involving MRS A are not available for the whole of the UK on a consistent basis. Figures for England and Wales are published annually in  Health Statistics Quarterly - the most recent figures are for 2004 and were published in  Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in February 2006. Figures for Northern Ireland are published annually - figures for the last five years were given in Hansard Written Answer 83964, Column 1774W.
	Figures on deaths mentioning MRSA for Government Office Regions of England, and Wales, are given in the attached table for the years 2000 to 2004.
	
		
			  Number of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor( 1) , Government office regions of England, and Wales( 2) , 2000-2004( 3) 
			  Government office region  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 North East 25 28 38 49 68 
			 North West 63 53 75 113 127 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 43 65 75 82 115 
			 East Midlands 46 66 50 74 90 
			 West Midlands 82 80 82 93 115 
			 East of England 68 81 84 100 128 
			 London 86 90 103 104 135 
			 South East 134 140 143 167 178 
			 South West 69 78 92 108 136 
			   
			 England Total 616 681 742 890 1,092 
			   
			 Wales 51 53 58 64 75 
			   
			 England and Wales(4) 669 734 800 955 1,168 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002.  Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22. (2) Usual residence of the deceased. (3) Figures are for deaths occurring in the years 2000 to 2004. (4 )Includes non-residents.

Named Day Questions

James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer named day questions 61459, 61460 and 61461, concerning contracts and tenders with Capita plc., due for answer on 23 March.

John Healey: holding answer 10 July 2006
	I have done so. I apologise on behalf of the Treasury that the answer to the hon. Member's questions was delayed.

Net Taxes/National Insurance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what net taxes and national insurance contributions were, excluding North Sea revenues as defined in footnote three to table C9 of the 2006 Budget report, HC 968, in each year since 1976-77; and what these figures represent as a percentage of gross domestic product in each year.

Stephen Timms: Data on net taxes and national insurance contributions and North Sea revenues as a percentage of GDP back to 1973-74 can be found in table C1 of the Public Finances Databank (available on the web at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pubsec_finance/psf_statistics.cfm).

Office of Government Commerce

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been employed in the Office of Government Commerce efficiency team in each of the last five years.

John Healey: The OGC Efficiency Team was set up in 2004-05 to implement the findings of Sir Peter Gershon's Report "Releasing Resources to the Front Line".
	In March 2005, at the end of the 2004-05 financial year, there were 28 staff employed in the Efficiency Team and in March 2006, at the end of the 2005-06 financial year, there were 29 staff employed in the Efficiency Team.

Office of Government Commerce

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he has met the Prime Minister to discuss reports received from the Office of Government Commerce efficiency team in the last 12 months.

John Healey: The Chancellor is in regular and frequent contact with the Prime Minister on a wide range of issues. As has been the practice of successive Administrations, it is not the practice of the Government to provide detailed information relating to discussions between Ministers.

Oxycodone Hydrochloride (Imports)

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of  (a) legal and  (b) illegal imports of products manufactured from oxycodone hydrochloride from the Republic of Ireland.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	Legal imports from the republic of Ireland are shown in total figures in the following table:
	
		
			   Oxycodone hydrochloride (kilogram) 
			 2001 40.8 
			 2002 0 
			 2003 0 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 1.6 
			 2006 (to date) 2.1 
		
	
	No assessment of illegal importation has been made.

Pensions

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projections in respect of unfunded public sector pension schemes in the 2005 Long Term Public Finance Report would be if allowance were made for  (a) the future impact on NHS payscales of the implementation of Agenda For Change and  (b) the agreement of new contracts for general practitioners and hospital consultants.

Stephen Timms: Existing GAD analysis in the technical note "Unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes: 2005 Cash flow Projections: Assumptions and Data" placed in the House of Commons library on 12 June 2006 takes into account the 'one off' effect of Agenda for Change. The future impact on NHS payscales or the agreement of new contracts for GPs and Hospital Consultants were not considered. These will be factored in GAD analysis as evidence of their effect comes through in future. Providing detailed updated projections would incur disproportionate costs, although "Total Liability of unfunded Public Service occupational Pension Schemes" placed in the House of Commons Library on 2 March 2006 estimated that the impact during 2004-05 of Agenda for Change and new GP contracts increased the liability of the unfunded schemes by £46 billion.

Personal Debt

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average amount of personal debt per person and  (b) total amount of personal debt was in (i) Brent and (ii) London in the last period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on personal debt in the UK. (87781)
	We are unable to provide levels of total personal debt by region. The following table shows estimates for the whole of the UK.
	
		
			  End-year 
			   Total personal debt (£ million)  Average personal total debt (£) 
			 2005 1,275,740 26,730 
			  Note: For average per head figures, the denominator is population aged 16+. 
		
	
	The estimates of debt and income are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. Estimates for households alone are not available. NPISHs are legal entities which are principally engaged in the production of non-market services for households and whose main resources are voluntary contributions by households. Examples of NPISHs are: charities; relief and aid organisations; educational establishments; Trade Unions; Professional Associations, Political Parties and Religious Organisations, and Sports Clubs and Associations.
	Further data are available from table A64 in United Kingdom Economic Accounts which is available at the following address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1904&Pos=&ColRank=l&Rank=422

Petrol Additives (Tax Subsidies)

John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax subsidies are available for the use of methyl tertiary butyl ether and other oxygenates instead of high aromatic blend stocks as an additive to petrol.

John Healey: Methyl tertiary butyl ether is liable to duty at the same rate as ultra-low sulphur petrol (currently 47.1 pence per litre).
	Another oxygenated fuel, ethyl tertiary butyl ether, (ETBE) can be mixed with petrol for use as a road fuel. In this case, the proportion of the fuel that is made from ETBE attracts the duty rate applicable to bioethanol (27.1 pence per litre).

Planning Policy

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what representations his Department has made on planning policy to the Department of Communities and Local Government or the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many civil servants in his Department work on planning policy;
	(3)  what role his Department plays in the development of land-use planning policy and planning policy guidance.

John Healey: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) leads on planning policy. Treasury officials work closely, on an ongoing basis, with the DCLG on land-use planning policy and planning policy guidance issues.
	The Housing and Urban Team in the Public Spending Directorate leads on liaising with DCLG on a range of spending and policy issues, including planning policy, it has 14 members of staff. The Treasury also supplies the secretariat for the Barker Review of Land Use Planning. This has six members of staff from the Treasury.

PSA Targets

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many PSA targets set in SR2002  (a) have and  (b) have not been achieved.

Stephen Timms: Departments report on progress against their PSA targets twice yearly in their Departmental and Autumn Performance Reports. It is not possible to provide a full tally due to lags in departmental data and the fact that some targets are still ongoing, with an end date in the future. However, when departments provided summary assessments for a majority of SR2002 targets in their latest Autumn Performance Reports over 80 per cent. of those targets were reported to be met or on course.

Public Relations Companies

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which public affairs and public relations companies  (a) his Department and  (b) agencies of his Department have used since 1997.

John Healey: The Treasury and its agencies have reviewed their supplier and expenditure records for the past four financial years and found no suppliers which they know to be public affairs or public relations companies.

Registration On-line Computer Systems

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons for the delays and backlog resulting from the purchase and installation of the Registration on-line computer system at register offices in England and Wales.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 24 July 2006:
	The Registrar General has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment he has made of the reasons for the delays and backlog resulting from the purchase and installation of the Registration On-line computer system at register offices in England and Wales. I am replying in her absence. (87860)
	Civil partnership legislation took effect in England and Wales on 5 December 2005 and was available to those wishing to make use of it from that date, without delays. To avoid any risk of delay or inconvenience, Civil Partnerships were initially recorded on a manual system with the Registration On-line (RON) computer system coming into use on 6 March 2006. An exercise to capture details of the manual notices and registrations for ceremonies prior to 6 March, and put them on the RON database, is nearing completion.
	Use of RON for registration of births, still births, and deaths is expected to commence later this year, with marriages following in 2007. This will take account of the experience of using RON to date, and will progressively replace existing systems in Register Offices across England and Wales.

Sir David Varney

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much Sir David Varney is being paid to act as a senior adviser on Transformational Government; and who is meeting the cost;
	(2)  whether Sir David Varney will be employed as  (a) a civil servant and  (b) a special adviser in his role as senior adviser on Transformational Government;
	(3)  how many people in the Treasury are working on the Transformational Government project, broken down by grade; and what the total salary cost is.

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 2006 Budget the appointment of Sir David Varney to advise him on opportunities for transforming the delivery of public services. Details of Sir David's work are set out in "Releasing the Resources to Meet the Challenges Ahead: Value for Money in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review" (Cm 6889). He will report to the Chancellor on his findings in time to inform the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
	Sir David will work full time as the Chancellor's senior adviser on transformational government until December 2006 and will be employed on civil service pay and conditions. His remuneration will be included in Her Majesty's Treasury's 2006-07 Resource Accounts.
	Sir David's work on transformational government forms part of the work of Her Majesty's Treasury. No additional staff have been recruited and costs will be met from within existing budgets.

Small Business Investment Companies

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much was spent on the creation of British small business investment companies in each year since 2003; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many British small business investment companies were created in each year since 2003.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no small business investment company (SBIC) programme in the United Kingdom. The SBIC programme was created in the United States in 1958 and exists to provide equity finance to small businesses in the start-up and early growth stages of their business development.
	Enterprise Capital Funds have recently been introduced to the United Kingdom and while based on the SBIC model have significant enhancements. Government investment of up to £106.5 million, subject to legal agreement, in the first six of these funds was announced between March and June 2006. Legal firms are currently being finalised, so no investment has yet been made.

Small Change Big Difference

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1857W, on Small Change Big Difference, what therapies are available to employees of his Department; how many people have made use of them; whether the therapies provided are subsidised by his Department; and what the total cost is to his Department of providing these therapies.

John Healey: All services are purchased privately by staff. No services are subsidised and there is no cost to the Department in providing them.

Tax Credits

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) individual and  (b) late payments of working tax credits were made in each week in March and April 2006, up to the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Individual payments made for each week in March and April are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number 
			  March 2006  
			 Week 1 1,900,000 
			 Week 2 3,100,000 
			 Week 3 3,000,000 
			 Week 4 3,300,000 
			 Week 5 3,400,000 
			   
			  April 2006  
			 Week 1 3,150,000 
			 Week 2 3,600,000 
			 Week 3 2,900,000 
			 Week 4 4,300,000 
		
	
	There is no record of payments being made late during those weeks.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the tax credits e-portal was re-opened.

Dawn Primarolo: The tax credit e-portal has not yet been re-opened. DWP access to the e-portal was reinstated on 24 April 2006 and the "Do I qualify" element was restored on 31 May 2006.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fraudulent tax credit claims have been made over the telephone since April 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: A claim for tax credits cannot be made over the telephone.

Tax Credits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average payment in family credit, working families tax credit and their successors was in each applicable year at current prices; and what the  (a) total expenditure and  (b) expenditure net of tax receipts was in each year.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the total expenditure and average finalised award for family credit, working families tax credit and their successors since 1991-92.
	
		
			   Expenditure in nominal terms (£ billion)  Average award at current prices (£ per family per week) 
			  Family Credit( 1)   
			 1991-92 0.7 36 
			 1992-93 1.0 43 
			 1993-94 1.3 48 
			 1994-95 1.5 50 
			 1995-96 1.8 53 
			 1996-97 2.2 59 
			 1997-98 2.4 61 
			 1998-99 2.5 62 
			 1999-2000 2.0 65 
			
			  Working Families Tax Credit( 2)   
			 1999-2000 1.1 71 
			 2000-01 4.6 82 
			 2001-02 5.5 86 
			 2002-03 6.3 91 
			 2003-04 0.1 (3)n/a 
			 (1) Excluding disability working allowance. This was phased out between October 1999 and March 2000. (2 )Excluding disabled person's tax credit. This was phased in between October 1999 and March 2000 and ceased in early April 2003. (3 )Working families tax credits ended 7 April 2003, therefore only small amount of expenditure recorded. 
		
	
	Information on annualised average awards for families benefiting from child and working tax credits in 2003-04 and 2004-05 are published in table 1.1 of the 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2003-04' and 'Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2004-05', which is available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
	Net expenditure of working families tax credits between 1999 and 2003 are as follows:
	
		
			   £ billion 
			 1999-2000 0.9 
			 2000-01 3.8 
			 2001-02 4.9 
			 2002-03 5.5 
			 2003-04 0.1 
		
	
	Total expenditure of new tax credits for 2003-04 is published in the Department of Inland Revenue Accounts 2003-04, Note 3 of the Trust Statement. The net expenditure for 2004-05 is calculated by removing the negative tax figure published in the PBR 2005 report from the net expenditure figure published in the Department of Inland Revenue Accounts 2004-05, Note 3 of the Trust Statement.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate has been made of the number of multiple separate cases of tax credit claims from the same address; how much fraud has been uncovered; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what action he has taken to reduce tax credit fraud by screening all multiple tax credit claims from a single address; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC have measures in place to tackle such indication of possible fraud. However, it would be inappropriate to disclose detailed information relating to HMRC action to reduce tax credits fraud as to do so could provide assistance to those engaged in criminal activity.

Tax Credits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his assessment is of the ability of the tax credits computer system to recalculate tax credits payments to surviving spouses and families; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The tax credit computer does not recalculate tax credits payments in these circumstances. A new claim is made by the surviving partner.

Tax Credits

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have been employed  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time in administering the tax credit system in each year since its inception; and how many hours overtime were paid in each of those years.

Dawn Primarolo: For the approximate number of staff deployed to tax credits work in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, I refer the hon. Member to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General published on 11 July 2006 which is available at http://www.nao.org.uk/home.htm Given that HMRC constantly monitor and balance the needs of their various work areas and deploy their resources accordingly, figures about the number of staff in HMRC who are working on tax credits at any one time can vary.
	Separate information relating to the number of staff across HM Revenue and Customs working full-time or part-time in administering tax credits, and information on the number of hours of overtime paid for those staff, is not available.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether there have been  (a) successful and  (b) unsuccessful organised frauds of the tax credit system since 1 December 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the HMRC publication "Tackling error and fraud in the Child and Working Tax Credits" available on the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/index.htm and to HM Revenue and Customs 2005-06 Accounts: the Comptroller and Auditor General's Standard Report, Part 2, available at http://www.nao.org.uk/pn/05-06/05061159.htm

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received tax credits while unemployed in each year since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Working families tax credit awards, which were payable in 2001-02 and 2002-03, were not available to families who were out of work at the start of the award. Children's tax credit benefited only taxpayers and therefore were also only available for in-work families. No information is available on the number of families who received working families tax credit or children's tax credits that included an adult who was out of work for all or part of the year.
	Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05 of the average numbers of out of work families receiving child tax credit in finalised awards, or equivalent support via income support or income based job seekers allowance, are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2004-05". This publication, and estimates of the equivalent numbers in provisional awards as at selected dates up to April 2006, are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm

Television Licences

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions took place between his Department and the BBC about the decision not to renew the contract for renewal and purchase of television licences supplied at post offices.

John Healey: The Treasury has had no discussions with the BBC in relation to the BBC's procurement exercise for its "over-the-counter" TV licensing business.

Temporary Workers

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of workers in each  (a) industry sector and  (b) occupational group were temporary in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2005; and what each sector's and group's share was of the total number of temporary workers in each year.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the percentage of temporary workers in employment in (a) industry sectors and (b) occupational groups for the years 1997, 2001 and 2005; and what each sector's and group's share was of the total number of temporary workers in each of those years. (86546)
	The two tables attached show the available information covering the 12 month periods ending February 1999 and 2001, and December 2005. No comparable information is available for 1997.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Table 1: Temporary employees as a percentage of all employees by occupation and industry, 1999, 2001 and 2005—United Kingdom 
			  Twelve months ending:  February 1999 
			   Number (Thousand)  As percentage of total employees in industry 
			 All employees(1) (2)— (2)— 
			 1 Managers and senior officials (2)— (2)— 
			 2 Professional occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 3 Associate professional and technical (2)— (2)— 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial (2)— (2)— 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 6 Personal service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives (2)— (2)— 
			 9 Elementary occupations (2)— (2)— 
			
			 All employees(3) 1,678 7.3 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 20 9.6 
			 C E: Energy and water 28 9.9 
			 D: Manufacturing 213 4.6 
			 F: Construction 79 6.7 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 262 5.7 
			 I: Transport and communication 91 5.9 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 248 7.4 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 611 9.9 
			 O-Q: Other services 125 10.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Twelve months ending:  February 2001 
			  All employees( 1)  Number (Thousand)  As percentage of total employees in industry 
			 All employees(1) (2)— (2)— 
			 1 Managers and senior officials (2)— (2)— 
			 2 Professional occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 3 Associate professional and technical (2)— (2)— 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial (2)— (2)— 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 6 Personal service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives (2)— (2)— 
			 9 Elementary occupations (2)— (2)— 
			
			 All emolovees(3) 1,616 6.8 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 17 8.3 
			 C E: Energy and water 24 8.3 
			 D: Manufacturing 179 4.2 
			 F: Construction 74 5.9 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 255 5.5 
			 I: Transport and communication 93 5.6 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 230 6.5 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 616 9.4 
			 O-Q: Other services 124 10.1 
		
	
	
		
			  Twelve months ending:  December 2005 
			   Number (Thousand)  As percentage of total employees in occupation/industry 
			 All employees(1) 1,346 5.5 
			 1 Managers and senior officials 55 1.6 
			 2 Professional occupations 269 8.8 
			 3 Associate professional and technical 162 4.8 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial 193 5.7 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations 66 3.2 
			 6 Personal service occupations 165 8.3 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations 117 5.6 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives 75 4.1 
			 9 Elementary occupations 241 8.1 
			
			 All employees(3) 1,346 5.5 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 10 5.5 
			 C E: Energy and water 12 4.8 
			 D: Manufacturing 121 3.5 
			 F: Construction 48 3.6 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 240 5.0 
			 I: Transport and communication 67 4.0 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 175 4.8 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 574 7.5 
			 O-Q: Other services 96 7.8 
			 (1) Total includes those who did not state their occupation, whereas occupation group percentages exclude them. (2 )Data not available. (3 )Total includes those whose workplace is outside the UK, or who did not state their industry, whereas industry group percentages exclude them.  Source: ONS: Labour Force Survey Annual datasets 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Temporary employees by occupation and industry 1999, 2001 and 2005—United Kingdom 
			   February 1999 
			  Twelve months ending:  Number (Thousand)  As percentage of all temporary employees 
			 All temporary employees(1) (2)— (2)— 
			 1 Managers and senior officials (2)— (2)— 
			 2 Professional occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 3 Associate professional and technical (2)— (2)— 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial (2)— (2)— 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 6 Personal service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives (2)— (2)— 
			 9 Elementary occupations (2)— (2)— 
			
			 AH temporary employees(3) 1,678 100.0 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 20 1.2 
			 C E: Energy and water 28 1.6 
			 D: Manufacturing 213 12.7 
			 F: Construction 79 4.7 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 262 15.6 
			 I: Transport and communication 91 5.4 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 248 14.8 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 611 36.5 
			 O-Q: Other services 125 7.4 
		
	
	
		
			   February 2002 
			  Twelve months ending:  Number (Thousand)  As percentage of all temporary employees 
			 All temporary employees(1) (2)— (2)— 
			 1 Managers and senior officials (2)— (2)— 
			 2 Professional occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 3 Associate professional and technical (2)— (2)— 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial (2)— (2)— 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 6 Personal service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations (2)— (2)— 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives (2)— (2)— 
			 9 Elementary occupations (2)— (2)— 
			
			 AH temporary employees(3) 1,616 100.0 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 17 1.1 
			 C E: Energy and water 24 1.5 
			 D: Manufacturing 179 11.1 
			 F: Construction 74 4.6 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 255 15.8 
			 I: Transport and communication 93 5.7 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 230 14.3 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 616 38.2 
			 O-Q: Other services 124 7.7 
		
	
	
		
			   December 2005 
			  Twelve months ending:  Number (Thousand)  As percentage of all temporary employees 
			 All temporary employees(1) 1,346 100.0 
			 1 Managers and senior officials 55 4.1 
			 2 Professional occupations 269 20.0 
			 3 Associate professional and technical 162 12.1 
			 4 Administrative and secretarial 193 14.3 
			 5 Skilled trades occupations 66 4.9 
			 6 Personal service occupations 165 12.2 
			 7 Sales and customer service occupations 117 8.7 
			 8 Process plant and machine operatives 75 5.6 
			 9 Elementary occupations 241 18.0 
			
			 AH temporary employees(3) 1,346 100.0 
			 A-B: Agriculture and fishing 10 0.7 
			 C E: Energy and water 12 0.9 
			 D: Manufacturing 121 9.0 
			 F: Construction 48 3.6 
			 G-H: Distribution hotels and restaurants 240 17.9 
			 I: Transport and communication 67 5.0 
			 J-K: Banking finance and insurance etc 175 13.0 
			 L-N: Public admin education and health 574 42.7 
			 O-Q: Other services 96 7.2 
			 (1) Total includes those who did not state their occupation, whereas occupation group percentages exclude them. (2 )Data not available. (3 )Total includes those whose workplace is outside the UK, or who did not state their industry, whereas industry group percentages exclude them.  Source: ONS: Labour

Terrorism

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to prevent the financing of terrorism since February 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: HM Treasury has continued to work closely with other policy departments, law enforcement agencies and international partners in order to better deter, detect and disrupt terrorism and the financing of terrorism.
	The Treasury published a progress report on counter-terrorist financing at the pre-Budget report 2005 and a further progress report on activity in this area will be published in the autumn.

Unemployment (Brent, East)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were  (a) unemployed and  (b) long-term unemployed in (i) Brent, East and (ii) Brent in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. The number of unemployed, resident in the Brent East Parliamentary Constituency was provided in Table 1 of an Answer on 11th July 2006 (Hansard column 1726W, reference 79828) up to the 12 months ending December 2004. The number of long-term unemployed was given in Table 3 of the same Answer. Table 1 attached shows more recent information from the APS. Table 2, attached, shows corresponding data for people resident in the London borough of Brent.
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Data for all claimants resident in the Brent East constituency was provided in Table 6 of the above Answer and the number of long-term claimants (over 12 months) was given in Table 8 of the previous Answer. Table 3, attached, shows corresponding data for the London borough of Brent.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of unemployed persons, aged 16 and over, resident in Brent East Parliamentary constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Number of unemployed  Long-term unemployed( 1) 
			 March 2005 3 1 
			 December 2005 3 (2)— 
			 (1) Over 12 months. (2) Sample size too small to provide estimate.  Notes:  1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of unemployed persons, aged 16 and over, resident in the London borough of Brent 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending  Number of unemployed  Long-term unemployed( 1) 
			 February 1998 15 n/a 
			 February 1999 15 4 
			 February 2000 10 4 
			 February 2001 12 3 
			 February 2002 12 3 
			 February 2003 13 3 
			 February 2004 9 2 
			 March 2005 10 3 
			 December 2005 11 3 
			 (1) Over 12 months.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance resident in the London borough of Brent 
			   All claimants  Long-term claimants( 1,2) 
			 1997 12,893 5,200 
			 1998 10,463 3,640 
			 1999 9,080 2,840 
			 2000 7,691 2,235 
			 2001 6,885 1,605 
			 2002 8,046 1,790 
			 2003 8,383 2,065 
			 2004 8,133 2,215 
			 2005 7,680 1,765 
			 (1) Computerised claims only. Dataset rounded to nearest 5 (2) Over 12 months.  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data held on Nomis®

Volunteering

John Hemming: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the contribution to the UK economy of those on benefits who volunteer.

Dawn Primarolo: No such research has been undertaken. However, the Government recognises the potential impact of volunteering on helping benefit claimants return to work, and has taken a number of steps to facilitate volunteering. The Russell Commission looked at the experiences of young volunteers in receipt of benefits, and put forward a number of recommendations, as well as publishing the Guide to Volunteering on Benefits.

Whole of Government Accounts Process

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on the dry run of the Whole of Government Accounts process for 2005-06.

Stephen Timms: In December 2005, HM Treasury published a report entitled 'Delivering the benefits of accruals accounting for the whole public sector'. Within this document a full account was given of the Whole of Government process to date and the intended 2005-06 dry run. There is no current intention to publish any further account of the 2005-06 Whole of Government dry run process.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of abortions were performed on pregnancies of  (a) under nine weeks,  (b) nine to 12 weeks,  (c) 13 to 16 weeks,  (d) 17 to 19 weeks,  (e) 20 to 23 weeks and  (f) 24 weeks and over duration in 2005.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Abortions, residents: percentages by gestation, England and Wales, 2005 
			  Gestation  Percentage 
			 Under 9 weeks 53.6 
			 9 to 12 weeks 35.7 
			 13 to 16 weeks 7.2 
			 17 to 19 weeks 2.1 
			 20 to 23 weeks 1.3 
			 24 weeks and over 0.1 
			 Total abortions 100

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions have been performed under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 as amended by section 34 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and how many and what proportion were performed  (a) in an emergency to save the life of the mother and  (b) in cases of rape.

Caroline Flint: There were 5.3 million (5,289,701) abortions performed in England and Wales on residents between 1968 and 2005. In the period between 1968 and 2002, 410 were performed under Section 1(4), in an emergency to save the life of the mother. The proportion performed in cases of rape is not collected.
	 Notes:
	We are unable to provide these data for confidentiality reasons as the totals for the three years 2003-05 are less than 10 and have not previously been published. It is intended that the Department will publish this information in a 10-year table (2003 to 2012) if numbers reach a total of 10 or more.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total number of abortions was in 2005 at  (a) 26 weeks and  (b) each week after the 26th, broken down by grounds for termination.

Caroline Flint: We are unable to provide these data for confidentiality reasons as set out in Statistical Bulletin 2006-01, "Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2005"; copies of which are available from the Library and also on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/68/59/04136859.pdf.

Agenda for Change

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clerical and administrative staff have been allocated lower pay bands as a result of Agenda for Change.

Rosie Winterton: From the available information on the computer aided job evaluation system it would suggest that the majority administrative and clerical posts are matching national profiles across bands one to five. This cannot readily be compared to the previous Whitley system.

Alcohol-related Conditions

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) under and  (b) over the age of 18 years were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problem in each year since 1997 for which figures are available, broken down by (i) region, (ii) health authority and (iii) primary care trust.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally in the format requested. However, data are provided in the following table for patients admitted to hospital for alcohol-related problems broken down by strategic health authority (SHA) for 2003-04 and 2004-05.
	
		
			  Count of patients admitted to hospital for alcohol-related conditions by region, SHA and age (ICD10 codes F10,K70,T51) Data for all NHS hospitals in England, data years 2003-04, 2004-05 
			2004-05  2003-04 
			  Government office region  SHA  under 18  18 and over  under 18  18 and over 
			 East of England Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 263 4,558 251 4,381 
			 East of England Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 170 2,323 170 1,842 
			 East of England Essex 118 2,552 103 2,099 
			 London North West London 107 3,953 107 3,596 
			 London North Central London 91 2,683 75 2,275 
			 London North East London 77 2,930 109 2,916 
			 London South East London 130 3,812 121 3,131 
			 South East South West London 156 2,584 162 2,073 
			 North East Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 306 6,032 246 5,512 
			 North East County Durham and Tees Valley 280 4,108 247 3,481 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 352 4,322 348 3,837 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber West Yorkshire 283 5,447 293 4,828 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber South Yorkshire 194 3,255 164 2,885 
			 North West Cumbria and Lancashire 447 6,763 380 6,130 
			 North West Greater Manchester 642 10,707 519 8,670 
			 North West Cheshire and Merseyside 546 11,228 540 10,496 
			 South East Thames Valley 231 3,677 201 3,050 
			 South East Hampshire and Isle of Wight 279 3,722 260 3,392 
			 South East Kent and Medway 226 3,049 191 2,650 
			 South East Surrey and Sussex 367 5,585 340 4,677 
			 South West Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 281 5,687 264 4,402 
			 South West South West Peninsula 286 4,321 296 4,113 
			 South West Dorset and Somerset 159 2,643 145 2,216 
			 East Midlands Trent 399 6,897 356 6,233 
			 East Midlands Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 139 2,964 131 2,530 
			 West Midlands Shropshire and Staffordshire 237 2,958 237 2,800 
			 West Midlands Birmingham and the Black Country 311 6,491 324 5,945 
			 West Midlands West Midlands South 216 2,994 222 2,746 
			  Other/unknown 133 4,995 107 3,758 
			  Notes:  Ungrossed Data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data that is the data are ungrossed.  Patient counts Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier HES1D. This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data are incomplete, HESID must erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell. ICD10 codes used: F10, T51, K70 - Alcohol related admissions. Data have been provided for 2004-05 and 2003-04 only as data from earlier years are not comparable as a time series in the requested format due to boundary changes of SHA's.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

Alzheimer's Disease

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence of the opinion of health professionals on the efficacy of Alzheimer drugs when drawing up its recommendations.

Andy Burnham: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) follows a standard process when developing its guidance. This process encourages bodies representing health professionals to register as consultees. Consultees can submit written evidence, comment on the appraisal documents and appeal against the appraisal committee's final recommendations. All NICE guidance is subject to public consultation on the NICE website and any clinician can log on and give their comments in this way. Two clinical experts nominated by the consultee organisations give their expert personal view by attending the initial appraisal committee discussion and/or providing written evidence to the committee. Evidence submitted by health professional groups and clinical experts is published on the NICE website throughout the guidance development process.

Assisted Reproductive Technology

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies have been born in each London borough through assisted reproductive technology in each year since 2000.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does collect data on live births reported to it by HFEA licensed clinics resulting from treatment cycles involving in vitro fertilisation and donor insemination. Data for London are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Live births resulting from in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and donor insemination (DI) treatment cycles from in London from 2000-04 
			   District—London( 1) 
			 2000 3,115 
			 2001 3,197 
			 2002 2,838 
			 2003 3,359 
			 2004(2) 3,205 
			 (1) The table identifies the total number of babies born according to their date of birth. HFEA has used the Patients Guide To Infertility definition of regions, which relates to the location in which the IVF or DI treatment took place. This is not necessarily the location of the birth or the place of residence of the patient. (2) 2004 is the most recent year for which information is available.  Source:  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Audiology Services

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients within the Coastal primary care trust and East Kent hospital trust areas are awaiting  (a) assessment and  (b) fitting of hearing aids for the first time.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Audiology Services

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the East Kent hospital trust will switch to the exclusive fitting of digital hearing aids.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts to ensure their local population benefits from modernised hearing aid services.

Audiology Services

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many audiology posts are unfilled in England.

Rosie Winterton: The March 2005 vacancy survey recorded 70 vacancies for audiologists which remained unfilled after three months or more in England. This was a three-month vacancy rate of 4.8 per cent.
	The results of the 2006 vacancy survey are due to be published on the 27 July 2006.

Blood Pressure/Diabetes

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to inform the South Asian community about  (a) high blood pressure and  (b) diabetes.

Caroline Flint: The White Papers, "Choosing Health" and "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", set out a range of action to improve health and tackle health inequalities that can lead to ill health. General Government action promoting a balanced diet and increased physical activity helps to address the risk factors that may lead to high blood pressure and diabetes. In particular, tackling obesity and action to reduce the intake of salt, fat and sugar can help reduce these risks.
	Specific action to inform the south Asian community about high blood pressure and diabetes includes the self-assessment Life Check, supporting individuals and communities at high risk of developing diabetes to get involved in more healthy lifestyles and environments. A Healthy Living DVD was launched recently to help raise awareness of and address potential inequalities in the identification and treatment of people from the Asian population with diabetes. The Department is also funding the Stroke Association to promote a blood pressure awareness campaign within African Caribbean and south Asian communities in England through relevant media, translated materials and pressure testing stations in community settings.

Brachytherapy

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether her Department has issued guidelines to primary care trusts on the funding of brachytherapy;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the availability of brachytherapy on the NHS in  (a) the South East and  (b) England.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the use of brachytherapy; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department issued 'Advice on the Development of Permanent Seed Implant Brachytherapy Services (low dose brachytherapy) for Localised Prostate Cancer in England' for consultation in summer 2005. The consultation document can be found on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/ClosedConsultations.
	The advice includes estimated costs for introducing and running a low dose rate prostate brachytherapy service but does not address sources of funding. It also provides the location of the 14 national health service prostate brachytherapy centres in England at that time. The framework is being finalised and will be published later in the year.
	The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has also produced interventional procedures guidance to the NHS on the use of brachytherapy for prostate cancer and cervical cancer. The guidance confirms that these procedures are safe for use.
	The Royal College of Radiologists is also producing a report on the development of brachytherapy services in general. This is due to be published in the autumn.

Breastfeeding

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken of her Department's policy on breastfeeding when assessing whether to allow the Patch infant formula trial in NHS hospitals.

Caroline Flint: The Department's policy on the governance of research is set out in the research governance framework for health and social care (second edition, April 2005), a statement of standards issued by the Secretary of State for Health. Any research study involving national health service patients, their organs, tissues or data or the use of NHS premises or facilities has to have the favourable opinion of a NHS research ethics committee.
	In their decision-making, research ethics committees are independent from political, institutional, profession-related and market influences. They reach an opinion on the basis of the ethical issues and not Government policy. They keep their own records. The Department cannot comment on their deliberations in a particular case.
	In addition, the permission of each organisation where the research takes place is required. The research governance framework for health and social care provides guidance on the issues they have to take into consideration.

Capital Shifting

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms there are by which NHS organisations can give money to other NHS organisations; and what estimate she has made of capital shifting within the NHS in each month of 2006.

Andy Burnham: The Department uses the process of inter authority transfers (IATs) to effect revenue and capital resource and cash transfers between national health service organisations during a financial year. These adjustments can be requested on a monthly basis as part of the NHS financial monitoring arrangements and must be agreed by both parties to the transfer and the Department.
	The process is also used to transfer funds from primary care trusts to the strategic health authority revenue reserves.
	The Department does not collect data on estimates, profiled by month, for individual revenue and capital IATs.

Carr Hill Formula Review

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the recommendations made by the review of the Carr Hill formula to be published; and if she will make a statement on the conclusions of the first phase of the review.

Caroline Flint: It is anticipated that the group tasked with the review of general medical services funding will report on its findings and recommendations during 2006-07.
	The first phase of the review is now complete. This involved initial assessment of all the factors in the existing formula and of factors, which could be included in a revised formula. The group will continue to carry out detailed modelling to enable a better understanding of the impact of a new formula at different population levels and for different types of practices.
	No conclusions have yet been reached by the group.

Child Vaccinations

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibility general practitioners have to inform parents and guardians that children are due for vaccination.

Caroline Flint: Under the terms of their contract, general practitioners are required to provide essential services to their patients—which includes the provision of health promotion advice, for example on vaccinations and immunisations. Practices may also choose to provide childhood immunisations themselves under a directed enhanced service. This requires practices to offer recommended immunisations to children on its childhood immunisation scheme register and information to parents or guardians about its immunisation programme.

Clinical Care (Peter Halley)

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she made of clinical care following the death of Peter Halley of Southend-on-Sea at Southend hospital on 14 May 2004; and what existing policies were amended as a result.

Andy Burnham: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. The local national health service owes a duty of care to any patient it treats.

Community Care

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to NHS foundation trusts on provision of practical and clinically safe medical care in a community setting.

Rosie Winterton: National health service foundation trusts (NHSFTs) are bound to comply with national health care standards and targets under their terms of authorisation (terms and conditions of operation) and are accountable to Monitor (the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) for complying with the authorisation. Monitor has powers of intervention in cases of significant failure.
	The Healthcare Commission (the statutory name of which is the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection) assesses and inspects NHSFTs' performance against standards and targets in the same way as for NHS trusts. National Service Frameworks and guidance by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are integral to health care standards.

Community Hospitals

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the full guidance following her letter sent in February to strategic health authorities identifying the criteria for enhancing the role of community hospitals for revenue purposes following the recent capital announcement.

Rosie Winterton: The further guidance identified in the letter sent to strategic health authorities on 16 February entitled 'Moving care closer to home' was published on 5 July 2006. The publication is titled 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Community: investing in the future of community hospitals and services' and is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/13/69/32/04136932.pdf

Community Hospitals

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recent  (a) letters and  (b) representations her Department has received in relation to (i) Ludlow Community Hospital and (ii) Bishop's Castle Community Hospital in Shropshire.

Caroline Flint: The Department has received a large number of letters from both hon. Members and members of the public about the review of services in Shropshire, including letters about Ludlow Community Hospital and Bishop's Castle Community Hospital. An accurate figure could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has also received a petition in relation to Ludlow Community Hospital.

Community Hospitals

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of community hospital beds in the Shropshire Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of community hospital beds likely to be needed in  (a) the area of South Shropshire district council and  (b) the area of Bridgnorth district council over the next (i) five and (ii) 10 years.

Andy Burnham: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning services, including community beds and community hospital facilities, to meet the health needs of their local population. Shropshire County PCT and Telford and Wrekin PCT are currently consulting on proposed changes to community hospitals across Shropshire.

Community Hospitals

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of community hospital beds in the Cotswolds and Vale Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.

Community Hospitals

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 826, on community hospitals, how many community hospitals have  (a) opened and  (b) closed in Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Strategic Health Authority area since 1997; and for how many possible closure is being considered.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Community Hospitals

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of community hospital beds in Kennet and North Wiltshire primary care trust area in each year since 1997.

Andy Burnham: It is for local primary care trusts in conjunction with their strategic health authorities to make an assessment of the local health service provision.

Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall, North, of 13 June 2006, regarding a constituent.

Andy Burnham: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 21 July 2006.

Crohn's Disease

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England have been diagnosed with Crohn's disease; what NHS funds are set aside to help treat those suffering from the disease; and what public funds have been allocated to help finance research into developing a DNA Crohn's disease vaccine.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 20 July 2006
	Information on the number of people diagnosed with Crohn's disease is not collected. NHS funds are not specifically set aside for the treatment of individual diseases.
	No public funds have been allocated to finance research into developing a DNA Crohn's disease vaccine. The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant in aid from the Office of Science and Innovation, part of the Department of Trade and Industry. The MRC allocates research funding based on the merit of the individual research proposals. In 2003-04 the MRC spend on research relevant to inflammatory bowel diseases (which includes Crohn's disease) amounted to £1.6 million.

Dentistry

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the quality of dental appliances entering the UK from (i) EU countries and (ii) countries outside the EU; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: No research has been commissioned on the quality of dental appliances entering the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) or non-EU countries. All dental appliances being placed on the UK market must meet the safety and quality requirements in the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EC.

Dentistry

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in Ruislip-Northwood constituency have  (a) opened and  (b) closed since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the opening and closure of general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) practices are not collected centrally. However, the number of practice addresses is available.
	The number of GDS and PDS dental practices in Ruislip-Northwood constituency is shown in the table.
	
		
			  General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Number of GDS or PDS dental practice addresses in Ruislip-Northwood constituency as at 31 March each year 
			   Number 
			 1997 23 
			 2006 23 
			  Notes: 1. A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much national health service treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the primary care trust. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual GDS or PDS dentists is not centrally available. 2. Areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory. 3. Data have been supplied by the Information Centre for health and social care.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Business Services Authority

Diagnostic Tests

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to expand the choice available to patients over the provider of diagnostic tests which need to be completed as part of the patient's care pathway.

Andy Burnham: From 30 April 2006, patients awaiting diagnostic imaging tests who do not have an appointment scheduled within 20 weeks are being offered the choice of having their scan at another provider within a maximum of 20 weeks. From April 2007, patients who do not have an appointment scheduled within 13 weeks will be offered the choice of having their scan at another provider within a maximum of 13 weeks. Speeding up access to diagnostic imaging tests is a key element of the drive to reduce overall access time for the benefit of patients and central to delivering an 18-week referral to treatment patient pathway by 2008.
	In the autumn, we will publish a framework setting out the next steps for choice policy. The framework will include policy guidance for choice of any provider in elective care for 2008. As part of the policy development for this we are scoping the opportunities to increase choice for patients along the elective care pathway, including in diagnostics. The framework will also include our priorities for extending choice beyond elective care into other service areas.

Diagnostic Tests

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the total number of each type of diagnostic test carried out in a year.

Andy Burnham: Data on the total number of each type of diagnostic test carried out in a year is not centrally collected. However, it is estimated that around 630 million diagnostic tests are carried out each year for national health service patients.
	
		
			  Type  Number  
			 Imaging Over 30 million tests Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, ultrasound, plain film, X-ray, dual energy X-ray absortiometry (DEXA) and other imaging modalities 
			 Endoscopy Circa 1.1 million tests Internal investigations using scopes 
			 Physiological measurement Up to 9 million tests Over 200 tests across cardiology, neurophysiology, audiology, urology, ophthalmic vision science, vascular technology, respiratory physiology and gastrointestinal physiology 
			 Pathology Circa 600 million tests Tests on blood and tissues, carried out in four main disciplines (histopathology, microbiology, haematology, biochemistry)

Diagnostic Tests

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) commissioners and  (b) providers have responsibility for the reduction of diagnostic waiting times in order to achieve the 18-week waiting time target.

Andy Burnham: Delivery of the 18-week patient pathway will be led by primary care trusts as commissioners of care for their local patients. All organisations delivering care along the pathway have a responsibility to ensure that the patient does not wait more than 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to hospital treatment. This includes providers of diagnostic services.

Diet

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the multiple traffic light system for nutrients when dealing with portions of food on the basis of levels per 100 g.

Caroline Flint: The basis for the traffic light colour coding recommended by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) reflects expert advice on the most appropriate criteria for a signposting scheme which is intend to help consumers to make healthier choices. It incorporates a per 100 g element and a per portion element for food sold in large portion sizes. In addition, the FSA recommends that traffic light colour coded signposts declares information on the levels of nutrients in a manufacturer' recommended serving.

District Community Nursing

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district community nurses are employed by the South East London Strategic Health Authority.

Rosie Winterton: South East London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) ceased to exist on 30 June 2006 but at 30 September 2005 568 community district nurses were employed by primary care trusts in its area. National health service London was established on 1 July 2006 as the SHA for London.

Doctor Registration

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors have been struck off in each health care trust in each of the last five years; and what the reason was in each case.

Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect this information centrally, and is not directly involved in the disciplining of individual doctors. Decisions about whether a doctor should be struck off the register are a matter for the General Medical Council.

Domiciliary Oxygen

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct primary care trusts  (a) to withdraw from contracts with Air Products for the supply of domiciliary oxygen and  (b) to take steps to ensure a reliable supply of domiciliary oxygen to patients.

Andy Burnham: Since the start of a six-month transition programme on 1 February 2006, we have been working with primary care trusts to transfer patients to new service suppliers, including Air Products. This includes action to monitor closely each supplier's capacity to deliver the required standard of service to all patients using oxygen therapy in the home. There is continuous assessment of suppliers with regular meetings to discuss suppliers' reports on progress and action to tackle emerging issues.

Domiciliary Oxygen

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the expected annual change in costs is of providing domiciliary oxygen services before and after the introduction of the new contract;
	(2)  what the cost has been of supplying domiciliary oxygen services in each of the last 12 months.

Andy Burnham: In 2004-05 the last full financial year of providing the service under former arrangements, the cost of providing domiciliary oxygen services was £32,809,524. It is not possible to make a direct comparison in the costs of these arrangements with the arrangements supporting service delivery before that date, as the costs are calculated on a different basis. Under the new arrangements, which began on 1 February 2006, the annual cost will reflect the regional contract per diem prices in the 10 oxygen service regions in England and local patterns in ordering these services. The full cost of the service for 2005-06 is not yet available and these will include costs associated with the introduction of the new arrangements on 1 February 2006. The first full year under the new service arrangement will be 2006-07 and we are only three months into the current financial year. In addition, in many parts of the country, primary care trusts have continued to work with local pharmacists to maintain a cylinder service in parallel with the new arrangements to safeguard continuity of supply to patients during action to transfer all patients to the new suppliers.
	However, the cost of providing the domiciliary oxygen services in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available are as follows:
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Total (£000) 
			 April(1) 7,048 
			 May 1,818 
			 June 4,491 
			 July 4,601 
			 August 4,705 
			 September(1) 7,761 
			 October 1,841 
			 November 5,048 
			 December(1) 7,844 
			 January 1,953 
			 February 4,842 
			 March 5,725 
			  57,677 
			 (1) In some calendar months there are two payment dates as payments are made on the 1(st) of the month, unless this falls on a weekend or a bank holiday—in which case the payment in made earlier. Only 12 payments can be made in one financial year.

Domiciliary Oxygen

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received from patients who have experienced difficulties with supplies of oxygen for home oxygen therapy. [R]

Andy Burnham: Since the introduction of the new contractual arrangements of domiciliary oxygen supply on the 1 February 2006, through to 19 July 2006, the Department has received 241 written representations concerned with this service.

Drug and Alcohol Dependency

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on tackling  (a) drug and  (b) alcohol dependency in (i) rural and (ii) non-rural areas in the last period for which figures are available; what these figures represent per head of population in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Drugs funding is issued on a drug action team (DAT) basis, which does not allow us to identify the split in funding between rural and non-rural areas. The 2006-07 pooled drug treatment budget, allocated at DAT level is shown in the table. Mainstream investment by primary care trusts and local authorities in drug treatment is additional to this and is estimated nationally at £212(1) million in 2006-07.
	Alcohol funding is entirely from national health service mainstream budgets which means we are unable to identify the split between rural and non-rural areas.
	(1) Based on 2 per cent. inflation increase.
	
		
			  Pooled drug treatment budget channelled through primary care trust 2006-07 
			  Region  DAT code  DAT  £ 
			 EA G01B Bedfordshire 1,690,725 
			 EA G03B Cambridgeshire 2,366,762 
			 EA G05B Essex 5,583,480 
			 EA G08B Hertfordshire 4,794,280 
			 EA G02B Luton 1,630,740 
			 EA G09B Norfolk 4,199,065 
			 EA G04B Peterborough 1,195,081 
			 EA G06B Southend-on-Sea 1,035,701 
			 EA G10B Suffolk 3,091,336 
			 EA G07B Thurrock 789,010 
			 EM E05B Derby 1,914,109 
			 EM E04B Derbyshire 3,787,185 
			 EM E02B Leicester 3,201,533 
			 EM E01B Leicestershire 2,403,356 
			 EM E08B Lincolnshire 2,514,788 
			 EM E09B Northamptonshire 3,240,307 
			 EM E07B Nottingham 3,644,663 
			 EM E06B Nottinghamshire 4,274,000 
			 EM E03B Rutland 55,526 
			 LO H01B Barking and Dagenham 1,571,646 
			 LO H12B Barnet 1,900,598 
			 LO H13B Bexley 1,165,192 
			 LO H14B Brent 3,300,438 
			 LO H15B Bromley 1,405,345 
			 LO H03B Camden 3,593,278 
			 LO H05B City of London 57,317 
			 LO H16B Croydon 2,600,768 
			 LO H17B Ealing 3,006,747 
			 LO H18B Enfield 2,512,926 
			 LO H19B Greenwich 2,866,297 
			 LO H06B Hackney 4,703,987 
			 LO H20B Hammersmith and Fulham 2,356,354 
			 LO H21B Haringey 3,671,890 
			 LO H31B Harrow 1,115,367 
			 LO H02B Havering 1,119,895 
			 LO H32B Hillingdon 1,417,793 
			 LO H33B Hounslow 1,500,309 
			 LO H04B Islington 4,136,427 
			 LO H22B Kensington and Chelsea 2,519,051 
			 LO H23B Kingston upon Thames 893,679 
			 LO H07B Lambeth 5,487,766 
			 LO H08B Lewisham 4,217,134 
			 LO H24B Merton 1,291,259 
			 LO H25B Newham 5,172,481 
			 LO H10B Redbridge 1,604,249 
			 LO H26B Richmond upon Thames 919,246 
			 LO H09B Southwark 5,453,924 
			 LO H27B Sutton 856,408 
			 LO H28B Tower Hamlets 4,584,339 
			 LO H11B Waltham Forest 2,457,285 
			 LO H29B Wandsworth 2,884,696 
			 LO H30B Westminster 3,719,568 
			 NE A02B County Durham 3,608,493 
			 NE A01B Darlington 805,550 
			 NE A09B Gateshead 1,520,801 
			 NE A03B Hartlepool 921,121 
			 NE A05B Middlesbrough 1,959,141 
			 NE A07B Newcastle upon Tyne 3,078,651 
			 NE A08B North Tyneside 1,617,587 
			 NE A10B Northumberland 2,011,613 
			 NE A04B Redcar and Cleveland 1,369,703 
			 NE A11B South Tyneside 1,947,040 
			 NE A06B Stockton-on-Tees 1,739,089 
			 NE A12B Sunderland 2,879,787 
			 NW B03B Blackburn with Darwen 1,087,442 
			 NW B04B Blackpool 1,077,805 
			 NW B14B Bolton 1,454,353 
			 NW B15B Bury 777,816 
			 NW B20B Cheshire 2,821,277 
			 NW B16B Cumbria 2,814,650 
			 NW B08B Halton 1,167,327 
			 NW B11B Knowsley 2,224,471 
			 NW B05B Lancashire 6,170,895 
			 NW B17B Liverpool 7,182,848 
			 NW B18B Manchester 6,868,189 
			 NW B13B Oldham 1,533,187 
			 NW B09B Rochdale 1,421,395 
			 NW B01B Salford 1,930,717 
			 NW B19B Sefton 2,115,704 
			 NW B10B St. Helens 1,461,782 
			 NW B21B Stockport 1,177,446 
			 NW B12B Tameside 1,326,067 
			 NW B02B Trafford 1,197,122 
			 NW B07B Warrington 895,860 
			 NW B22B Wigan 1,883,045 
			 NW B06B Wirral 2,670,720 
			 SE J01B Bracknell Forest 384,072 
			 SE J10B Brighton and Hove 1,862,675 
			 SE J07B Buckinghamshire 1,809,737 
			 SE J11B East Sussex 1,808,113 
			 SE J15B Hampshire 4,808,456 
			 SE J18B Isle of Wight 849,622 
			 SE J13B Kent 6,881,667 
			 SE J14B Medway towns 1,615,355 
			 SE J08B Milton Keynes 1,170,969 
			 SE J09B Oxfordshire 3,448,552 
			 SE J16B Portsmouth 1,462,012 
			 SE J02B Reading 1,135,025 
			 SE J03B Slough 1,044,564 
			 SE J17B Southampton 1,702,815 
			 SE J19B Surrey 3,183,674 
			 SE J04B West Berkshire 429,361 
			 SE J12B West Sussex 2,751,411 
			 SE J05B Windsor and Maidenhead 538,700 
			 SE J06B Wokingham 395,037 
			 SW K01B Bath and North East Somerset 636,374 
			 SW K06B Bournemouth 1,154,957 
			 SW K02B Bristol 3,190,237 
			 SW K13B Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 2,822,297 
			 SW K08B Devon 2,871,469 
			 SW K05B Dorset 1,190,218 
			 SW K14B Gloucestershire 2,659,287 
			 SW K04B North Somerset 635,586 
			 SW K09B Plymouth 1,736,978 
			 SW K07B Poole 449,922 
			 SW K15B Somerset 1,883,301 
			 SW K03B South Gloucestershire 714,841 
			 SW K11B Swindon 1,069,748 
			 SW K10B Torbay 864,370 
			 SW K12B Wiltshire 1,612,743 
			 WM F05B Birmingham 12,950,880 
			 WM F06B Coventry 2,679,926 
			 WM F07B Dudley 2,217,683 
			 WM F08B Herefordshire 743,368 
			 WM F09B Sandwell 2,950,700 
			 WM F01B Shropshire 1,208,071 
			 WM F10B Solihull 1,019,774 
			 WM F03B Staffordshire 3,772,829 
			 WM F04B Stoke-on-Trent 1,713,917 
			 WM F02B Telford and Wrekin 1,101,731 
			 WM F11B Walsall 2,173,982 
			 WM F12B Warwickshire 2,085,893 
			 WM F13B Wolverhampton 2,636,078 
			 WM F14B Worcestershire 2,355,456 
			 YH D09B Barnsley 1,469,814 
			 YH D13B Bradford 4,137,436 
			 YH D03B Calderdale 1,296,361 
			 YH D14B Doncaster 2,251,146 
			 YH D02B East Riding of Yorkshire 1,507,417 
			 YH D01B Kingston upon Hull 3,476,486 
			 YH D04B Kirklees 2,605,185 
			 YH D12B Leeds 5,900,475 
			 YH D08B North East Lincolnshire 1,489,380 
			 YH D07B North Lincolnshire 945,794 
			 YH D05B North Yorkshire 2,400,559 
			 YH D15B Rotherham 1,991,867 
			 YH D11B Sheffield 4,793,764 
			 YH D10B Wakefield 2,124,207 
			 YH D06B York 1,031,677 
			350,000,000

Drug and Alcohol Dependency

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of people in  (a) rural and  (b) non-rural areas with (i) drug and (ii) alcohol dependency (A) in absolute terms and (B) per head of population; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Department's 2004 alcohol needs assessment research project is the first alcohol needs assessment in England conducted on a national scale, and reports there are 1.1 million people in England who meet the criteria of alcohol dependence. We are unable to supply a breakdown of rural and non-rural areas, however regional breakdown is shown in table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			  Region  Total 
			 North East 83,356 
			 North West 145,054 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 163,889 
			 East Midlands 42,656 
			 West Midlands 126,658 
			 East of England 95,808 
			 London 217,429 
			 South East 183,611 
			 South West 95,257 
			 Total for England 1,132,074 
		
	
	The Department does not hold data for the numbers of those with a drug dependency in the format requested but we can provide the following data on the prevalence of drug dependence.
	Data on drug dependence is available from the survey Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adults (aged 16 to 74) Living in Private Households (in Great Britain) carried out in 2000, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
	We are unable to break down the prevalence by rural or non-rural areas, however the latest data we have available from the ONS survey is shown in table 2. This provides the prevalence of drug dependence of adults aged 16-74 by NHS regional office area, based on responses to five questions, about drug use in the year prior to interview.
	
		
			  Table 2: Prevalence of drug dependence of adults( 1) , by NHS regional office area and sex (rate per thousand population), 2000 
			  Rate per thousand in past year 
			   Northern and Yorkshire  Trent  West Midlands  North West  Eastern  London  South East  South West  England 
			  Women  
			 Dependence on:  
			 Cannabis 18 4 1 14 24 46 13 1 16 
			 Amphetamines 1 2 — 4 5 — 2 — 2 
			 Cocaine 1 — — 4 — 1 1 — 1 
			 Crack 1 — — — — 2 — — 0 
			 Ecstasy 5 1 — — 9 2 — — 2 
			 Heroin/Methadone 1 4 — 3 — — — 1 1 
			 Tranquillisers 2 2 — 4 3 4 3 3 3 
			 Volatile substances — — — — — — — — — 
			   
			 Cannabis only 17 — 1 14 16 43 11 1 14 
			 Other drug(s) with or without cannabis dependence 7 10 — 10 12 7 5 4 7 
			 Any drug dependence 24 10 1 25 27 50 16 5 21 
			   
			 Bases 528 414 405 559 435 490 722 432 3,985 
			   
			  Men  
			 Dependence on:  
			 Cannabis 31 32 30 68 27 37 58 51 43 
			 Amphetamines 7 — 2 1 1 13 8 — 5 
			 Cocaine — — 8 — 13 4 7 2 4 
			 Crack — — 7 — — 4 2 — 2 
			 Ecstasy 3 10 10 12 4 5 17 9 9 
			 Heroin/Methadone 1 2 7 4 — 4 — — 2 
			 Tranquillisers 1 — — 7 — 4 — — 2 
			 Volatile substances — — — — — — — — — 
			   
			 Cannabis only 22 27 22 54 23 33 41 39 34 
			 Other drug(s) with or without cannabis dependence 13 12 18 20 19 19 23 11 17 
			 Any drug dependence 34 39 40 74 41 52 65 51 51 
			   
			 Bases 430 332 333 427 388 385 578 356 3,229 
			   
			  All adults  
			 Dependence on:  
			 Cannabis 25 18 16 41 26 41 36 25 30 
			 Amphetamines 4 1 1 3 3 7 5 — 3 
			 Cocaine 1 — 4 2 7 3 4 1 3 
			 Crack 1 — 3 — — 3 1 — 1 
			 Ecstasy 4 6 5 6 7 4 9 5 6 
			 Heroin/Methadone 1 3 3 3 — 2 — 1 2 
			 Tranquillisers 2 1 — 6 1 4 2 1 2 
			 Volatile substances — — — — — — — — — 
			   
			 Cannabis only 19 13 12 34 19 38 26 20 24 
			 Other drug(s) with or without cannabis dependence 10 11 9 15 15 13 14 7 12 
			 Any drug dependence 29 24 21 49 34 51 41 27 36 
			   
			 Bases 958 746 738 986 823 875 1,300 788 7,214 
			 '—'denotes no cases 0 denotes values less than 0.5 per cent. (1) Adults aged 16-74  Note: The sample for England has been subdivided into eight NHS regional office areas, which should not be mistaken for the current Government office region structure. The sample sizes in a number of regions are quite small and there was differential non-response between regions.  Source: Psychiatric Morbidity Among Adults Living in Private Households, 2000. Office for National Statistics carried out on behalf of Department of Health, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales.

Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why her Department is not renewing its contract to provide the journal Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin to doctors and therapeutic advisers in England.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 5 June 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley), on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 366W.

Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate has been made of the number of local NHS organisations which will bulk subscribe to the Drugs and Therapeutic Bulletin following the ending of the NHS-wide subscription;
	(2)  what guidance she plans to issue to NHS managers responsible for deciding whether to purchase a bulk subscription to the Drugs and Therapeutic Bulletin for their local NHS organisation.

Andy Burnham: The Department has made no such estimate and has no plans to issue guidance to the national health service. I understand that Which? Limited, the publishers of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin are examining a range of possible future subscription arrangements.

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the financial out-turn of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust was in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The following table provides the financial outturn of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust since 1999 to 2004-05.The first available data for this trust is for 1999-2000.
	
		
			   £000 
			 1999-2000 -1,197 
			 2000-01 601 
			 2001-02 600 
			 2002-03 -11,371 
			 2003-04 65 
			 2004-05 453 
			  Source:  Audited summarisation schedules of: East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust (1999-2000 to 2004-05) Provisional outturn for East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust (2005-06)

East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust

Michael Howard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments central Government made to East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust for 2005-06; whether there were payments that were undertaken to be made but were not made; what payments are planned for 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Details of the payments made by central Government to East Kent Hospitals National Health Service Trust during 2005-06 and 2006-07 is available in the Library.
	Public dividend capital (PDC) totalling £25,160,000 was issued to East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust in 2005-06. Of this, £22,160,000 was issued on a permanent basis, £3,000 on a temporary basis. The temporary PDC was repaid in year. To date no PDC has been issued to the trust in 2006-07.

Echo-cardiogram

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time for an echo-cardiogram was in Croydon in the last period for which figures are available; and how many such procedures have been carried out in the last 12 months.

Andy Burnham: This information is not available in the format requested.

E-coli

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of e-coli were recorded in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Although food poisoning is notifiable, there is no specific requirement to identify the organism that is involved.
	The numbers of confirmed cases of E.coli 0157 received from laboratories in the London health region between 2002 and 2005 are shown in the table(1).
	(1) Before 2002, data collection was carried out using different geographical boundaries and are not therefore included.
	
		
			   Number of confirmed cases of E.coli 0157 
			 2002 54 
			 2003 32 
			 2004 37 
			 2005 77 
			 2006 (to 10 July) 50 
			  Source: Laboratory of Enteric Pathogens, Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, Colindale 
		
	
	Data shown are for full years between 2002 and 20051. Also shown are provisional numbers of isolates that were received up to 10 July 2006.
	Data on laboratory confirmed cases are not collected by London borough. Patients may be resident in one borough, whereas the hospital from which their isolate is received may be in another.

Elective Acute Procedures

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what  (a) targets,  (b) instructions and  (c) guidance have been set for primary care trusts in respect of the (i) type and (ii) proportion of elective acute procedures which should be procured from the independent sector;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 18 July to question 81980, on elective procedures, what  (a) approach and  (b) actions her Department will take in respect of those trusts which fail to secure or secure a very small proportion of their elective procedures through the independent sector.

Ivan Lewis: There are no instructions or targets for the type or proportion of activity that primary care trusts (PCTs) must secure through the independent sector, so there is no question of PCTs failing to secure a given level of provision.
	In April 2006, the Department published "Choice at Referral: Guidance Framework for 2006-07", which made clear that PCTs should offer patients referred for elective care the choice of at least four locally commissioned providers, together with appropriate national health service foundation trusts and nationally procured independent sector treatment centres.

Emergency Admissions

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency admissions to hospital there were in each year since 1998-99.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Count of emergency admissions for all national health service hospitals in England 
			  Data year  Emergency admissions 
			 1998-99 3,784,954 
			 1999-2000 3,833,667 
			 2000-01 3,856,836 
			 2001-02 3,885,780 
			 2002-03 3,938,026 
			 2003-04 4,199,299 
			 2004-05 4,428,680 
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care

Faculty of Medical Management and Leadership

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received on the establishment of a Faculty of Medical Management and Leadership.

Andy Burnham: I have received no representations on this subject.

Food Labelling

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken to ensure that  (a) supermarkets and  (b) manufacturers implement the recommendations of the Food Standards Agency concerning front of pack labelling.

Caroline Flint: The Government recommendations for voluntary front of pack signpost labelling based on four core principles:
	provision of information for fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt;
	use of red, amber, green colour coding to indicate at a glance whether the level of individual nutrients is high, medium and low;
	information on the level of each nutrient present in a portion of the product; and
	use of nutritional criteria developed by the agency.
	Since then, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been working with retailers and manufacturers to promote take-up of the recommended approach. I have also met representatives of several companies to encourage them to adopt this approach.
	Sainsbury's already has a traffic light colour based scheme on its own-brand ready meals, breakfast cereals, pizzas and sandwiches. Waitrose has also introduced the scheme by applying it to sandwiches and intends to extend this to ready meals and pizzas later this year. Asda and the Co-op are to follow shortly.
	We will continue to encourage industry to adopt its recommendations to ensure that consumers are provided with helpful nutritional information on front of pack, based on extensive consumer research.

Food Safety

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Government and their non-departmental public bodies have put in place to ensure food manufacturers report to the Food Standards Agency infections harmful to human health in their produce; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Under the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002, it is illegal to place any food on the market if it is unsafe, that is, injurious to human health or unfit for human consumption. The regulation also requires food manufacturers to inform immediately both the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and their local authority of any food assessed to be potentially harmful to health. The food must then be withdrawn from the market and, if necessary, recalled from consumers. In order to facilitate food manufacturers' obligations to report food incidents under Regulation 178/2002, the FSA has made available to industry guidance on reporting which can be accessed from the FSA's website at:
	www.food.gov.uk

Food Safety

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidelines the Food Standards Agency has issued regarding testing for salmonella by food manufacturers; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has not issued specific guidance on salmonella testing since testing regimes should be established by food business operators, informed by their food safety management systems. The FSA has, however, issued a range of guidance documents to assist food businesses and enforcers with implementing the new hygiene legislation. These list sources of further technical guidance from industry representative bodies and expert organisations which will help businesses to establish appropriate hazard analysis critical control point-based procedures and testing regimes.

Food Standards Agency

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment the Food Standards Agency has made of whether guideline daily amounts on food assist consumers in making judgments about the healthiness of a food product.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency tested a total of seven different guideline daily amounts (GDA) signpost formats with consumers. The results indicated that many consumers could not use this information to correctly assess the nutritional quality of food. Understanding improved when the GDA information was provided in combination with traffic light colour coding.

Food Standards Agency

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Food Standards Agency has tested the effectiveness of monochrome guideline daily amounts showing nutrients as a percentage of guideline daily amounts.

Caroline Flint: A monochrome guideline daily amount (GDA) signpost format was included in the signpost formats the Food Standards Agency tested with consumers. The results indicated that in practice many consumers could not use this information to correctly assess the nutritional quality of food. Understanding improved when the GDA information was provided in combination with traffic light colour coding.

General Food Regulations

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of legal fee liability upon the prosecution of food and drink companies by competent authorities under the General Food Regulations 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: There has been no assessment of the impact of legal fee liability upon prosecution of food and drink companies under the General Food Regulations 2004. This was not mentioned as a possible financial burden in any of the responses to the public consultation exercise before the general food regulations were introduced.

Genetic Disorders

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is made available to the public by the NHS on the incidence of genetic disorders for children of closely related parents; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The provision of information to the public on this kind of issue is generally a matter for local national health service services taking into account the needs and cultural background of their local population.
	The Human Genetics Commission supports the need for proper provision of education and information about marriage within a kin-ship group. This should entail access to counselling and support, preferably in the individual's or couple's preferred language, and a no-blame approach that enables at-risk couples to come forward for testing. Those wanting specific advice on their individual risk should consult a clinical geneticist or genetic counsellor in their local NHS regional genetics centre.
	The Department is funding two pilot projects in areas with large Asian communities that are looking at how best to raise community awareness of genetics services and what they can provide. These pilots will provide valuable evidence on how best to provide culturally sensitive services that meet the particular needs of these populations.
	The London IDEAS Genetic Knowledge Park (funded by the Department and Department of Trade and Industry) and the genetic interest group are preparing a leaflet dealing specifically with the possible increased risk of inherited disorders associated with consanguineous marriage for use by specialised genetics services as an adjunct to genetic counselling. This is part to of a larger project that aims to address the lack of availability of multilingual information on genetic disorders and risk.

Genito-Urinary Medicine

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2006,  Official Report, column 264W, on genito-urinary medicine (GUM), what percentage of attenders at genito-urinary medicine clinics were recorded as not given an appointment within two weeks in the  (a) February 2006 and  (b) May 2006 audit of GUM clinic waiting times by the Health Protection Agency.

Caroline Flint: Figures for the February 2006 audit showed that 18 per cent. of attendees at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics were not seen within two weeks since first contacting the clinic. However, some of these patients were offered an earlier appointment but could not attend.
	Figures for the May 2006 audit showed that 15 per cent. of attendees at GUM clinics were not seen within two weeks since first contacting the clinic. However, some of these patients were offered an earlier appointment but could not attend.
	The May 2006 summary data on the percentage of patients seen within 48 hours can be found in the GUM Clinic Waiting Times Reports May 2005 to May 2006, copies of which are available in the Library. Copies of the document are freely available at the following website.
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_st/epidemiology/wtimes.htm
	Overall, the number of attendees at GUM clinics seen within 48 hours in England increased from 51 per cent. in February 2006 to 54 per cent. in May 2006 and a further 4 per cent.

Halal

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will promote the adoption of a Halal symbol to enable Muslim consumers easily to identify Halal products.

Caroline Flint: The Food Standards Agency works closely with the Muslim community through its Muslim organisations working group and its members are currently working on a voluntary halal code of practice to assist with producing a standardised halal certification system. Once this has been produced, it is hoped that it will be widely adopted by the Muslim community, allowing for food to be labelled or otherwise marked as halal in accordance with that code of practice and providing clearer advice for consumers.

Health Care Costs

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of expenditure on  (a) primary care and  (b) hospital care was in Islington in each of the past five years; and what the estimated level is in 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: The table shows data for Islington primary care trust (PCT) for the years that it has been in existence, 2002-03 to 2004-05, which is the latest year for which information is available. Prior to 2002-03, it is not possible to identify expenditure in Islington as it was not a separate reporting identity.
	Data given relates expenditure by the PCT on purchase of primary healthcare and the purchase of secondary healthcare in each case. It is not possible to identify hospital care alone as this may include, for example, care in the community.
	The allocations to Islington PCT for 2006-07 and 2007-08 were £336.9 million and £363.9 million respectively.
	
		
			  Expenditure by Islington PCT 
			  £000 
			   Purchase of primary healthcare  Purchase of secondary healthcare 
			 2002-03 38,807 202,020 
			 2003-04 49,101 204,978 
			 2004-05 50,761 259,649 
			  Source: Audited summarisation schedules of Islington PCT.

Health Statistics (London)

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with  (a) diabetes and  (b) Alzheimer's syndrome in each London borough in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Data on the number of patients diagnosed with diabetes are not held in the format requested. However, the number of patients with diabetes by London primary care trust (PCT) for March 2005 and March 2006 which are the latest figures available is shown in the following table.
	Data on the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's syndrome are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Number of patients with diabetes as identified on practice registers 
			  LondonMarch 2006  March 2005 
			 North Central Barnet PCT 5A9 12,423 12,041 
			 North Central Enfield PCT 5C1 10,559 9,616 
			 North Central Haringey Teaching PCT 5C9 9,664 8,849 
			 North Central Camden PCT 5K7 5,897 5,691 
			 North Central Islington PCT 5K8 6,706 6,049 
			 North East Havering PCT 5A4 8,997 8,306 
			 North East Barking and Dagenham PCT 5C2 6,582 5,673 
			 North East City and Hackney PCT 5C3 9,225 8,644 
			 North East Tower Hamlets PCT 5C4 9,995 9,402 
			 North East Newham PCT 5C5 14,404 13,948 
			 North East Redbridge PCT 5NA 11,522 10,975 
			 North East Waltham Forest PCT 5NC 10,399 9,898 
			 North West Hillingdon PCT SAT 9,701 9,153 
			 North West Hammersmith and Fulham 5H1 4,651 4,960 
			 North West Ealing PCT 5HX 15,481 14,409 
			 North West Hounslow PCT SHY 9,796 9,182 
			 North West Brent PCT 5K5 16,158 15,236 
			 North West Harrow PCT 5K6 10,846 8,963 
			 North West Kensington and Chelsea PCT 5LA 4,386 4,117 
			 North West Westminster PCT 5LC 5,998 5,801 
			 South East Bromley PCT 5A7 9,499 9,052 
			 South East Greenwich PCT 5A8 8,159 7,535 
			 South East Lambeth PCT 5LD 10,397 9,875 
			 South East Southwark PCT 5LE 9,294 8,759 
			 South East Lewisham PCT 5LF 10,161 8,819 
			 South East Bexley Care Trust TAK 7,770 7,589 
			 South West Kingston PCT 5A5 5,490 4,959 
			 South West Croydon PCT 5K9 13,781 13,252 
			 South West Wandsworth PCT 5LG 9,256 9,086 
			 South West Richmond and Twickenham PCT 5M6 4,698 4,235 
			 South West Sutton and Merton PCT 5M7 13,330 12,373

Health Worker Recruitment Code of Practice

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations she has received from NHS employers regarding the effectiveness of the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers;
	(2)  what advice has been given by her Department to NHS employers regarding the implementation of the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers;
	(3)  what procedures are in place for the reporting to her Department of breaches of the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers;
	(4)  how many recruitment agencies have signed the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers;
	(5)  pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2005,  Official Report, column 1062W, on Healthcare Professionals Recruitment, how many recruitment agencies have breached the Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Workers since November 2005.

Rosie Winterton: NHS Employers is an independent body with responsibility for providing national health service employers with guidance about employment matters, this includes advice and support on the implementation of the code of practice.
	NHS Employers also monitor breaches of the code and provide the Department with monthly returns which includes details of the following:
	the number of agencies on the code of practice list;
	ongoing investigations of alleged breaches of the code; and
	removal of agencies from the list.
	There are currently 279 commercial recruitment agencies on the code of practice list. One agency has been removed from the list since November 2005.
	The Department has received no representations from NHS Employers regarding the effectiveness of the code of practice.

Healthcare Commission

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2006,  Official Report, column 2098W, on the Healthcare Commission, when she expects to publish regulations to transfer the regulation of controlled drugs to the Healthcare Commission; and what consultation is planned prior to the publication of such regulations.

Andy Burnham: The Health Bill, which creates the regulation making powers, received Royal Assent on 19 July. The regulations will be laid, subject to parliamentary timetables, this autumn. The guidance on the new governance arrangements for controlled drugs was developed in conjunction with key stakeholders—professionals, regulators, police services, service providers and patient groups and was the subject of formal public consultation in the summer of 2005. The response to the consultation is available on the Department's website.
	The controlled drugs advisory group commented on the draft regulations at their meeting on 28 June 2006 and self-nominated representatives from the advisory group meet for a more detailed workshop on the draft regulations on 7 July. The sub-group included many of the key regulators involved in controlled drugs inspection: the Healthcare Commission, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, General Medical Council, Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, etc.
	Although there are no plans to repeat the formal public consultation, the Department has just completed a series of six conferences around the country for service providers—both national health service and the independent sector and the key regulators—on the new framework for the use and management of controlled drugs created by the Health Act 2006 and subsequent regulations.

Herbal Medicines

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether manufacturers of products registered under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive will be able to indicate on their label whether they comply with organic standards of production;
	(2)  what steps she intends to take to ensure that consumers of products registered under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive are able to identify whether they comply with organic standards of production.

Andy Burnham: Article 62 of Directive 2001/83/EC provides that, in addition to other mandatory information, the outer packaging and the package leaflet of a medicinal product covered by the requirements of the directive may include other information compatible with the summary of product characteristics which is useful for the patient, to the exclusion of any element of a promotional nature. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently investigating the issue raised and in particular whether there are circumstances in which references to organic production could be compatible with the summary of product characteristics.
	The MHRA will also explore what scope there may be for companies to refer to organic production in advertising materials.

Hospital Telephone Calls

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the charge was per minute for telephone calls made  (a) by patients from and  (b) to patients in hospital, in each primary care trust in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The NHS Plan, published in July 2000, announced bedside televisions and telephones would be available in every major hospital by 2004. The systems have now been installed in around 80,000 beds in 160 major national health service hospitals.
	Three private companies are licensed to provide bedside entertainment systems to major hospitals in England. They set the call charges.
	The cost for patients to make telephone calls to these hospitals has remained constant at 10p per minute (minimum 20p) for local and national calls.
	The incoming call charges have remained constant for two of the service provides at 39p per minute off peak and 49p per minute peak. Charges per minute for the third service provider were; 14p 2002, 17p in 2003, 20p in 2004 and they currently charge 35p.
	Primary care trusts fall outside the NHS Plan remit for the availability of bedside televisions and telephones and they would therefore make their own provisions for telephone systems.

Housing (Health Hazards)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Communities and Local Government on joint action to prevent health hazards resulting from poorly heated and insulated housing; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: In the recent "The UK Fuel Poverty Strategy" fourth annual progress report it highlights in most areas that there has been a lot of cross departmental work to address fuel poverty across the regions including the role of the health sector in reducing health related harm. The National Energy Action (NEA) has undertaken a wide range of projects during 2004-05 and these have aimed to contribute to the co-ordination of delivery of energy efficiency services at local level, develop strategic fuel poverty alleviation activity by regional bodies and to continue work with partners in the health sector.
	The energy efficiency partnership for homes holds a fuel poverty strategy group and during 2005-06 has held cross-partnership seminars to encourage the take up of fuel poverty initiatives by the partnerships 12 other main working groups. The work of the fuel poverty strategy group is further facilitated through its two sub-groups, of which one is a health sub-group which funds the health housing and fuel poverty forum, initiated in 2005.
	The health, housing and fuel poverty forum held a national conference in February 2006, which focused on how to better engage the health sector via improved partnership working in order to minimise the health related harm due to cold homes and fuel poverty. More recently, in June 2006 the south east region has held round table discussions on how to take this work forward at national, regional and local levels.

Lymphoma

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of regional variations in availability of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence-approved treatments for lymphoma; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: In June 2004, the National Cancer Director published a report into variations in usage of cancer drugs approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) including Rituximab (Mabthera) for lymphoma. This showed a 2.6 fold variation in the use of rituximab across the 34 cancer networks—this was the narrowest variation of all the NICE approved drugs considered.
	An update of Professor Richards's report will be published later this year and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Lymphoma

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Government have spent on research into  (a) prevention and  (b) treatment of lymphoma in each year from 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Lymphoma is the most common type of haematological cancer and includes Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The latter includes a wide range of conditions. Treatment depends on the type of lymphoma and staging of the disease.
	Treatment ranges from low dose chemotherapy to high dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue (similar to a bone marrow transplant). Patients may also require supportive treatments such as blood transfusions and plasma exchanges.
	We do not routinely track our research spend on specific tumour sites and cannot provide a figure for the amount spent on research into lymphoma prevention or treatment, but the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) strategic analysis of cancer research in the United Kingdom directly funded by NCRI partner organisation in 2004 revealed that approximately 7 per cent. of research spend, approximately £21.5 million, was in lymphoma.

McTimoney Chiropractic Course (University of Wales)

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the regulation of chiropractic, with particular reference to the proposals of the General Chiropractic Council to withdraw accreditation from the McTimoney Chiropractic course at the University of Wales.

Andy Burnham: I understand that agreement has been reached for those students currently in years three, four and five to graduate and be eligible for registration as chiropractors. The General Chiropractic Council and McTimoney College are continuing to work together to achieve a positive outcome for students currently in years one and two. However, the matter remains subjudice whilst discussions continue about the position of these students.

Medical Devices Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to make representations to the European Commission on revising the Medical Devices Directive.

Andy Burnham: The Commission published a proposed directive revising the medical devices directive in December 2005 which is currently being negotiated in the Council of Ministers working group. Given that these negotiations are ongoing there are no plans to request the Commission to undertake another revision exercise.

Medical Devices Directive

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent advice she has received from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with regards to the revision of the Medical Devices Directive.

Andy Burnham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has the responsibility for negotiating the proposal to revise the Medical Devices Directive in the Council of Ministers working group. The United Kingdom's negotiating position has been agreed by Ministers.

Mental Health Bill

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many service users from black and minority ethnic backgrounds attended each of the consultation events relating to the Race Equality Impact Assessment on the Mental Health Bill.

Rosie Winterton: Care services improvement partnership and the National Assembly for Wales organised a series of seven consultation events to gather views on the proposed amendments to the Mental Health Act 1983, as part of the race equality impact assessment. The events, held in Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester and London, attracted approximately 430 people from a variety of backgrounds and organisations. Delegates were not asked to record their ethnicity, so we do not have a specific record of how many service users from black and minority ethnic backgrounds attended the events. However, of the organisations that registered their attendance there were representatives of service users groups from a range of black and minority ethnic backgrounds: Black, African, Afro-Caribbean, Somali, United Kingdom Asian, South Asian, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese and Irish.

Midwives

Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were practising in the National Health Service in  (a) London and  (b) England in each year since 1992, expressed as a (i) headcount and (ii) whole-time equivalent figure.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of midwives in London and England in each year since 1992 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  National Health Service Hospital and Community Health Services: Qualified Midwifery Staff in England and the London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Area as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   England  Of which:  London SHA total( 1) 
			 1992 24,020 (3)— 
			 1993 23,353 (3)— 
			 1994 23,050 (3)— 
			 1995(2) 22,022 (3)— 
			 1996 22,595 3,243 
			 1997 22,385 3,370 
			 1998 22,841 3,406 
			 1999 22,799 3,581 
			 2000 22,572 3,399 
			 2001 23,075 3,526 
			 2002 23,249 3,601 
			 2003 23,941 3,981 
			 2004 24,844 3,950 
			 2005 24,808 4,338 
		
	
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent 
			   England  Of which:  London SHA total( 1) 
			 1992 20,283 (3)— 
			 1993 19,554 (3)— 
			 1994 19,291 (3)— 
			 1995(2) 18,034 (3)— 
			 1996 18,262 2,746 
			 1997 18,053 2,809 
			 1998 18,168 2,777 
			 1999 17,876 2,789 
			 2000 17,662 2,673 
			 2001 18,048 2,813 
			 2002 18,119 2,812 
			 2003 18,444 3,026 
			 2004 18,854 3,040 
			 2005 18,949 3,326 
			 (1) London SHA figures 1996-2001 are estimated based on the 2005 organisational structure. Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) A new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff was introduced in 1995. The new codes classify staff according to what they do rather than the terms and conditions under which they are employed i.e. national pay scales. Figures based on new occupation codes are not directly comparable with those based on the old pay scale classification, therefore figures since 1995 are not comparable with earlier years. (3) Not available.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

Ministerial Meetings

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2006,  Official Report, column 330W, on ministerial meetings, which two dates were cancelled for a meeting between the hon. Member for Chorley and the Minister of State for Health.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 10 July 2006
	A meeting was scheduled to take place between the hon. Member for Chorley and the Minister of State for Health on Monday 5 June at 8 p.m. in Interview Room 1, Portcullis House. The meeting was postponed. The Minister of State for Health had hoped to offer the hon. Member further dates for this meeting on the evenings of 12 and 19 June but was prevented from doing so by parliamentary business.
	A meeting did subsequently take place between the hon. Member for Chorley and the Minister of State for Health on Mon 26 June at 8.30pm at the above venue.
	Another meeting was arranged on 22 June. Representatives of the hon. Member attended.

Ministerial Visits

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments Ministers in her Department have visited in North East Cambridgeshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Andy Burnham: Departmental Ministers have not visited any national health service establishments in the North East Cambridgeshire constituency in the last 12 months. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health visited Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon on 26 May 2005 and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership Trust in Fulborne on 26 June 2006.

Ministerial Visits

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS establishments Ministers in her Department have visited in East Yorkshire constituency in the last 12 months.

Ivan Lewis: holding answer 17 July 2006
	My hon. Friend, the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), Minister of State for Public Health visited health trainers from East and West Hull primary care trusts on 23 March 2006.
	My right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Rosie Winterton), Minister of State for Health Services visited the Greentrees facility, a nurse consultant-led service in Willerby, Hull on 4 April 2006.

MMR

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make an assessment of recent research by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina on a possible link between the MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The recent study by the Wake Forest University School of Medicine into a possible link between the triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children (the Krigsman study) cannot be given credibility since it did not include any control groups. The same investigation in Dr Wakefield's own laboratories showed no evidence of measles virus in bowel tissue from autistic children. Several properly conducted studies that include control groups, have failed to find measles virus persisting in the blood cells of autistic children and therefore we believe that there remains no convincing epidemiological or virological evidence for measles, mumps and rubella playing a part in causing autism.

National Blood Service

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often her Department reviews medical evidence which forms the basis for blood donation rules that  (a) permanently exclude men who have had sex with men and  (b) temporarily exclude female sexual partners of those men; when the last review of the medical evidence was carried out; and when the next review is scheduled to take place.

Caroline Flint: Donor selection criteria are set by the Joint UK Blood Transfusion Services and National Institute of Biological Standards and Control Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC). The rules regarding blood donation are guided by epidemiological data relating to the United Kingdom and are regularly subject to review.
	The donor selection criterion which excludes men who have sex with men is kept under review by the expert advisory committee on the microbiological safety of blood, tissues and organs for transplantation (MSBTO). MSBTO discussed a recent review of the epidemiological data relating to this issue at a meeting held on 20 June. The Committee considered an evaluation of the effects of changes in the donor selection criterion for men who have had sex with men on the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections in England and Wales, 2002 to 2004. The Committee is expected to discuss this issue again at its next meeting in October.
	The current Donor Selection Guidelines (202, November 2005) state that female partners of a man who has had sex with another man must not donate, even if a condom or other protection has been used. There is discretionary provision to accept such an individual if at least 12 months have elapsed since the last sexual contact with a male partner who has sex with another man. This policy is currently under review by the UK Blood Services.

National Procurement

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when her Department will invite primary care trusts to take part in the national procurement process.

Andy Burnham: An advert was submitted to the Official Journal of the European Union on 13 July which notified of a national procurement of management and support services to help deliver primary care trusts' (PCT) commissioning obligations.
	Applicants will be assessed on quality and financial grounds. Once providers have been accredited and a framework agreement established they will be made available to the national health service locally to support PCTs in their commissioning functions, should they need such expertise or support.
	PCTs are and will remain public, statutory bodies accountable and responsible for using their growing budgets to commission the best possible services for local people.

NHS Bursaries

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 29 June, on NHS bursaries, what size bursary uplift  (a) nursing,  (b) midwifery,  (c) medical,  (d) dental and  (e) allied health professional students received in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The table shows the national health service bursary rates for the basic awards, not including additional allowances, for the period 1997 to 2007 and the annual percentage increases. The majority of nurses and midwives receive the non-means tested bursary. Medical and dental students and the majority of allied health professional students receive the means-tested NHS bursary. The NHS bursary scheme has supported allied health professional students since 1998 and medical and dental undergraduate students since September 2002 from their fifth and subsequent years of study. During the first four years' of study medical and dental students receive support under the Department for Education and Skills regulations.
	In addition to the basic NHS bursary awards there are a number of other allowances. These include allowances for students aged 26 and over and dependents' allowances. Since 1999, we have also provided better support for student travel costs in respect of practice placements. In 2004, we introduced the childcare allowance and in 2005 continuing payments for students on maternity leave.
	
		
			  Basic NHS bursary rates for academic years 1997-98 to 2006-07 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  NHS means tested bursary
			 London n/a 2,225 2,280 2,335 2,578 2,640 2,703 2,768 2,837 2,908 
			 Elsewhere n/a 1,810 1,855 1,900 2,098 2,148 2,200 2,253 2,309 2,367 
			 Parental home n/a 1,480 1,515 1,555 1,717 1,758 1,800 1,843 1,889 1,936 
			
			  NHS non-means tested bursary
			 London 5,230 5,374 5,508 5,645 6,232 6,382 6,535 6,692 6,859 7,030 
			 Elsewhere/parental home 4,450 4,572 4,686 4,805 5,305 5,432 5,562 5,695 5,837 5,983 
			 Percentage increase on previous year — 2.75 2.5 2.4 10.4 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.5

NHS Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she intends to publish her Department's framework for commissioning, practice-based commissioning and the national contract template for 2007-08;
	(2)  when she plans to publish her Department's framework for  (a) the future of provider reform,  (b) future workforce development and  (c) the management and regulation of the healthcare system.

Rosie Winterton: On Friday 14 July, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health made a written statement announcing the publication of "Health Reform in England: Update and Commissioning Framework". This document contains a detailed commissioning framework, which includes proposals for strengthening practice based commissioning and a new model of contracting. It also provides updates on the future of provider reform, workforce development and system management and regulation. A copy of the framework is available in the Library.
	A consultation document on system management and regulation will be published in the autumn and further information on workforce will be published later this year.

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 231-2W, on NHS Direct, what proportion of total NHS Direct sites the proposed closure of 12 sites represents; and what proportion of the total NHS Direct workforce 573 posts represents.

Rosie Winterton: NHS Direct currently has 54 sites. A number of the 12 sites proposed for closure, representing 22 per cent. of the estate, are small and do not provide suitable accommodation that meets the future needs of NHS Direct for either facilities or good support for staff through supervision.
	The consultation document sets out that the organisation has 2,796 posts. The possible reduction in posts in the organisation could be around 400, representing 14 per cent. of the current posts.

NHS Direct

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the impact of NHS Direct on front line services; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the likely impact of proposed  (a) site closures and  (b) staff redundancies on NHS Direct front-line services.

Rosie Winterton: The proposals set out in the consultation document are designed to ensure that NHS Direct can continue to provide a high quality service to patients and can improve the value for money offered to commissioners and to taxpayers. The proposals aim to increase efficiency of NHS Direct operations, improve the patient experience, improve the working experience for staff, and make better use of specialist skills throughout the organisation. NHS Direct recognise that this is a difficult time for staff and are working to ensure that all staff have the opportunity to comment on the proposals, through formal and informal means, as well as working closely with union representatives.

NHS Employees

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the progress of the review by her Department of the financial support available to students studying for employment in the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: We have started to review the national health service bursary scheme, in particular to ensure it complies with age discrimination and eligibility legislation. We will also introduce a formal policy to pay for students absent due to maternity and childbirth to replace the current interim arrangements. A consultative meeting has taken place with the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the British Medical Association. Further meetings are planned during the summer with student representatives and other stakeholders.

NHS Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional net resources will be available to the NHS in 2006-07 after taking into account  (a) NHS inflation and  (b) the 2005-06 deficit.

Andy Burnham: There will be £6,540 million additional net resources available to the national health service in 2006-07. This represents a real terms increase of 5.8 per cent. on NHS expenditure in 2005-06. This growth takes into account the 2005-06 deficit position. The following able provides the total net NHS expenditure in each of the years.
	
		
			   2005-06  (Estimated outturn)  2006-07  (Plan) 
			 Net NHS expenditure (£ billion) 77.847 84.387 
			 Percentage increase (cash) — 8.4 
			 Percentage increase (real-gross domestic product deflator 29 March) — 5.8 
		
	
	These figures are as reported in Department Report 2006 (DR2006) Table 3.4.

NHS Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capital underspend was for the NHS in 2005-06; and whether her Department plans to redirect the underspend to health authorities with financial deficits.

Andy Burnham: The 2005-06 provisional outturn is the most recently published data on the national health service financial position. This data shows that the provisional capital underspend in 2005-06 was £1,162 million.
	Capital and revenue are managed and controlled separately by HM Treasury. The Department is voted separate budgets for both capital and revenue and does not have the power to vire funding from the capital budget to the revenue budget.

NHS Life Check

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 30 January 2006,  Official Report, column 22, on health and social care services, what progress she has made in developing an NHS life check.

Caroline Flint: We have made good progress developing the national health service life check. Following a very successful stakeholder workshop there will initially be NHS life checks for three key life stages: early years, adolescence, and mid-life.
	We have established a small project delivery team and are currently setting up a steering group of key stakeholders. A review of existing online self-assessment tools has also been completed, which will inform the development of the NHS life check assessment tools. The Department has applied to the Patent Office for the NHS life check trademark.

NHS Litigation Authority

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written statement of 11 June 2006,  Official Report, column 64WS, on the NHS Litigation Authority, for what reasons the NHS Litigation Authority achieved an underspend of £205 million in 2005-06; and whether she expects the change in the discount rate in 2005-06 to lead to additional costs for the Authority in future years.

Rosie Winterton: The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) forecasts in advance the likely claims expenditure and number of new claims reported to the schemes, neither of which is controlled by the NHSLA. The major impacting factor on the NHSLA's resource limit is the level of claims reported to the schemes. In 2005-06 fewer claims were made than forecast, meaning fewer new provisions and therefore an underspend in resource terms. As a consequence, NHSLA actuarial advisors reviewed the incurred but not reported provisions which led to a reduction in the resource requirement in year.
	The additional costs to the NHSLA, which result from the change in the discount rate for provisions, have been taken into account in setting the departmental expenditure limit for the Department for 2006-07 and future years and in setting the budgets for the NHSLA.

NHS Staff Redundancies

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff  (a) have been and  (b) were expected to be made redundant (i) voluntarily and (ii) compulsorily at (A) Barnet primary care trust, (B) Barnet Chase Farm trust, (C) Royal Free trust and (D) Northwick Park; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS Supply Chain Excellence Programme

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to allow health trusts to consider long-term cost effectiveness when making purchasing decisions following the introduction of the supply chain excellence programme.

Andy Burnham: The supply chain excellence programme approach to procurement is to blend national health service clinical expertise with best in-class procurement methodology. This methodology includes a review of whole-life costs, where appropriate, of the goods and services the NHS uses.
	This approach to strategic sourcing is being embedded across the NHS in order to ensure best value to the taxpayer and quality of care for patients. NHS trusts have a duty of care to deliver both of these objectives.

NHS Supply Chain Excellence Programme

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the NHS supply chain excellence programme on the uptake and use of medical technology in the NHS.

Andy Burnham: It is expected that the supply chain excellence programme will have a positive impact on the uptake and use of medical technology in the national health service.
	Increasingly there is a more strategic approach to procurement of goods and services, and to markets, across the service. A strategic approach that will ensure that the NHS is getting best value for money from the significant amount it spends on goods and services, including medical technology.
	If best value for money is achieved there will be more resources to spend on patient care and as a result there will be a need for more medical technology to support that care.
	In securing best value, mechanisms are in place to ensure that procurement takes account of clinical choice which in itself will help to ensure uptake.

NHS Trusts (Financial Management)

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce financial management training for chief executives of NHS trusts which are in financial deficit.

Andy Burnham: All NHS chief executives, as accountable officers, need the skills and experience to ensure proper financial controls are in place and that all resources are well managed. This is assessed as part of the appointment process.
	Where chief executives of NHS trusts are in financial deficit, the strategic health authority agrees what action is needed to bring finances back under control including an assessment of senior leadership skills.
	There are no plans to introduce mandatory financial management training for any chief executives. However, sound financial management is a critical issue and a comprehensive capability-building programme is being developed for finance directors throughout the NHS, and it is anticipated that a number of chief executives may wish to participate.
	The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and Monitor are co-commissioning the commercially focused development programme for NHS finance directors. The first wave will commence in November this year, with a service wide roll out from spring 2007. This programme is expected to be pivotal in delivering transformational change in NHS financial management performance.

NICE

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the cost per quality-adjusted life-year used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in assessing cost effectiveness was originally established; whether she plans to have NICE raise it in line with price inflation; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The cost per quality-adjusted-life-year calculation is one of the factors that informs the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) when reaching a decision on the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies. NICE does not have a set limit. NICE'S approach to appraising clinical and cost-effectiveness is set out in its methods guide published in April 2004 and available on its website at:
	www.nice.org.uk

NICE

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to ensure that the guidance resulting from National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence technology appraisals is implemented across the whole NHS within three months; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Strategic health authorities manage the national health service locally on behalf of the Secretary of State. They hold all local NHS organisations (apart from NHS foundation trusts) to account for performance and make sure national priorities—for example, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance—are integrated into local health service plans.
	Technology appraisals from NICE are reflected in core standard C5 of "Standards for Better Health" published by the Department in July 2004.
	The Healthcare Commission started assessing NHS bodies' performance against the core standards in April 2005, and the first ratings based on this assessment will be published later this year.

Non-medical Professional Regulation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the review of non-medical professional regulation being undertaken by her Department's Director of Workforce.

Andy Burnham: The Department published its review of non-medical regulation on 14 July, at the same time as the Chief Medical Officer published his review of medical regulation. A joint public consultation has been launched on the recommendations, which closes on 10 November 2006. Copies of the consultation document, both reports and other related documents are available in the Library.

Non-practising Doctors

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of non-practising medically qualified doctors in the UK.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Nut Allergies

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to ensure that all food labels clearly indicate whether foods contain nuts.

Caroline Flint: The provisions of Directive 2003/89/EC require that, as from 25 November 2005, a specified list of allergenic foods, including nuts and peanuts, have to be clearly declared on the label whenever they are used in all pre-packed food, including alcoholic drinks.
	However, the directive does not cover allergenic foods that may be present unintentionally as a result of allergen cross-contamination at some point during the manufacture or transportation of the food. Therefore, the Food Standards Agency has produced voluntary best practice guidance on allergen management and advisory labelling. This guidance was published on Monday 10 July.

Osteopathy

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce proposals to change the practice of osteopaths determining the profession's own standards  (a) of training,  (b) of practice and  (c) for access to the statutory register.

Andy Burnham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given 16 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1565W.

PFI Schemes

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by her Department on private finance initiative schemes in the last nine years; and how many of those schemes have been completed on time.

Andy Burnham: Information on completed private finance initiative projects which have opened late is not routinely collected centrally. To provide such information for each of the past nine years would incur disproportionate costs.
	A key aspect of the private finance initiative (PFI) is the transfer of risk. PFI incentivises the consortium to complete construction on schedule because the consortium does not begin to receive payments until the asset is ready for use and the service is being delivered.
	The following tables show all PFI schemes which have reached financial close and are operational to date:
	
		
			  Prioritised PFI schemes by financial and operational (defined as first patient day) date 
			  Strategic health authority  NHS trust  Financial close/tender award date  Operational date  Capital value  (£ million) 
			 North East North Cumbria Acute Hospitals—Carlisle 3 November 1997 10 April 2000 67 
			 South East Coast Dartford and Gravesham 30 July 1997 11 September 2000 94 
			 South Central Buckinghamshire Hospitals 14 December 1997 17 October 2000 45 
			 London Queen Elizabeth Hospital—Greenwich 1 July 1998 28 February 2001 96 
			 North East County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals—Dryburn 31 March 1998 2 April 2001 61 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Calderdale and Huddersfield 31 July 1998 8 April 2001 65 
			 North West South Manchester University 8 June 1998 25 July 2001 67 
			 East of England Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals 9 January 1998 21 September 2001 158 
			 West Midlands Hereford Hospitals 31 March 1999 1 March 2002 64 
			 London Barnet and Chase Farm 1 February 1999 2 March 2002 54 
			 West Midlands Worcestershire Acute Hospitals 18 March 1999 18 March 2002 87 
			 North East County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals—Bishop Auckland 28 May 1999 8 June 2002 48 
			 London King's College Hospital 6 December 1999 7 October 2002 76 
			 South West Swindon and Marlborough 5 October 1999 3 December 2002 100 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Leeds Mental Health Teaching 1 March 2000 16 December 2002 47 
			 London Bromley Hospitals 19 November 1998 29 March 2003 118 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals 8 December 2000 29 March 2003 22 
			 South Central Berkshire Healthcare 2 May 2001 29 April 2003 30 
			 London West Middlesex University Hospital 30 January 2001 16 May 2003 60 
			 North East South Tees Acute Hospitals 16 August 1999 1 August 2003 122 
			 London St George's Healthcare 20 March 2000 11 September 2003 46 
			 South West Gloucestershire Hospitals 1 May 2002 13 November 2004 32 
			 West Midlands Dudley Group of Hospitals 1 May 2001 1 April 2005 137 
			 London University College London Hospitals 12 July 2000 12 June 2005 422 
			 London North West London Hospitals -Central Middlesex 6 November 2003 19 March 2006 69 
			 South West Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership 1 March 2004 13 June 2006 83 
			 North West East Lancashire Hospitals—Blackburn 9 July 2003 8 July 2006 110 
			 West Midlands University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire—Walsgrave 27 November 2002 10 July 2006 379 
		
	
	
		
			  All other non prioritised PFI schemes over £10 million by financial and operational (defined as first patient) date 
			  Strategic health authority  NHS trust  Financial close/tender award date  Operational date  Capital value  (£ million) 
			 London Queen Mary's Sidcup 11 December 1998 30 March 2000 15 
			 East Midlands Nottingham University Hospitals -QMC 24 May 1999 1 October 2000 17 
			 South East Coast Sussex Partnership 24 June 1999 31 January 2001 22 
			 West Midlands North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare 8 December 1999 1 September 2001 28 
			 London Oxleas 4 July 2000 20 December 2001 11 
			 London North East London Mental Health 4 July 2000 4 March 2002 11 
			 West Midlands Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health 15 August 2000 18 March 2002 18 
			 South West Cornwall Partnership—Bodmin 31 October 2000 1 June 2002 10 
			 London East London and The City Mental Health—Newham 5 September 2000 11 June 2002 15 
			 East of England Luton and Dunstable 21 November 2000 9 September 2002 15 
			 North East Northumbria Healthcare—Wansbeck 16 November 2000 25 March 2003 18 
			 East of England Royston, Buntingford and Bishop Stortford PCT 4 May 2001 28 April 2003 15 
			 West Midlands Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals 20 March 2002 23 June 2003 13 
			 North East Northumbria Healthcare—Hexham 27 April 2001 12 July 2003 29 
			 South East coast Guildford and Waverley PCT—Farnham 29 October 2001 1 November 2003 29 
			 North East County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals—Chester-le-street 30 May 2002 18 November 2003 10 
			 South Central Newbury and Community PCT 4 July 2002 1 March 2004 19 
			 South West Mid Devon PC— Tiverton 1 July 2002 25 May 2004 10 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Leeds Teaching Hospitals—Wharfedale 20 September 2002 4 November 2004 14 
			 North East Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys—West Park 4 July 2003 13 December 2004 16 
			 London Brent PCT—Willesden 5 December 2002 21 April 2005 21 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare 11 August 2003 6 June 2005 15 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber North Kirklees PCT 21 April 2004 14 November 2005 27 
			 West Midlands Sandwell and W Birmingham Hospitals—City Hospital 9 December 2002 28 November 2005 26 
			 London Wandsworth PCT—Queen Mary's Roehampton 6 May 2004 10 March 2006 75 
			 South Central Buckinghamshire Hospitals—Stoke Mandeville 21 May 2004 15 April 2006 47 
			 North East Northumberland, Tyne and Wear—Morpeth 10 May 2004 15 May 2006 32 
			 South West Salisbury Health Care 4 March 2004 19 May 2006 24 
			 North East East Lancashire Hospitals—Burnley 13 October 2003 23 May 2006 30 
			 London Newham University Hospital 27 January 2004 8 July 2006 55

Pharmacies

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of parishes in  (a) rural and  (b) urban areas have a pharmacy.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally.

Physiotherapists

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which NHS trusts are recruiting new junior physiotherapists in 2006-07;
	(2)  how many people have qualified as physiotherapists in each of the past five years; and what proportion of those are employed in the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Preventative Health Spending

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has established an expert group on preventative health spending.

Caroline Flint: The White Paper "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for Community Services" sets out a vision to provide people with good quality social care and national health service services in the communities where they live.
	It sets out proposals for "an expert group to develop robust definitions and measures of preventative health spending, to report later in 2006;..."(Paragraph 6.34).
	The national reference group for health and wellbeing is being established which will take forward this and other related White Paper commitments. Membership and remit of the group will be published when discussions with stakeholders are complete.

Primary Care Trusts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2006,  Official Report, column 1792W, on primary care trusts, what the overall level of investment in enhanced services by primary care trusts (PCTs) was in 2005-06; what the originally planned level of national investment in enhanced services by PCTs was; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The overall level of national investment in enhanced services by primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2005-06 is forecast to be £649 million. The planned level of national investment (known as the enhanced service floor) was £676 million.
	Any issues raised by either PCTs or their local medical committee regarding enhanced service investment can, if all local routes have been exhausted, be referred to the jointly chaired NHS Employers/General Practitioners Committee Implementation Coordination Group for advice.

Road Accidents (Compensation)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was recovered by hospitals from insurers towards the cost of treatment of persons injured in road accidents in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Hospitals have for more than 70 years been able to recover the costs of providing treatment to the victims of road traffic accidents where the injured person successfully claims personal injury compensation from the person responsible for causing the injury, through their insurer. However, the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 introduced a streamlined, centralised recovery scheme, operated by the compensation recovery unit, part of the Department for Work and Pensions, on behalf of the Secretary of State. Recoveries since that scheme was introduced in April 1999 are as shown in the table.
	
		
			   Amount recovered (£) 
			 1999-2000 30,046,572 
			 2000-01 75,847,629 
			 2001-02 98,278,603 
			 2002-03 105,025,336 
			 2003-04 105,654,936 
			 2004-05 117,504,738 
			 2005-06 121,500

Skin Cancer

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of skin cancer there have been in each constituency in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) age and  (b) sex.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 24 July 2006:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many cases of skin cancer there have been in each constituency in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) age and  (b) sex.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2003. A table which shows the number of cases of melanoma skin cancer by age and sex for each parliamentary constituency in England, for the years 1999 to 2003, has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Speech Therapy (Children)

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effects of treating children with speech and language difficulties in  (a) inclusive settings and  (b) on a one-to-one basis; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: No assessment has been carried out centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities, local authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of speech and language therapy.
	Local healthcare professionals are best placed to decide whether speech and language therapy services should be provided in inclusive or one-to-one settings based on the assessed need of each child. Both methods can have positive outcomes.

Strategic Health Authorities (Amalgamation)

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the number of staff who have been  (a) made redundant,  (b) redeployed and  (c) prematurely retired as a result of the amalgamation of strategic health authorities; and what the financial cost of these redundancies and early retirements has been.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 20 July 2006
	There will be a number of redundancies in strategic health authorities following the restructuring brought about by "Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS". However until the detail of the new arrangements is agreed, it is difficult to make accurate forecasts.
	A human resource framework, jointly agreed between the service and trade unions has been produced to support staff through the transition. It contains key information for dealing with staff affected by this change process including measures for minimising redundancies, that is, restrictions on recruitment and maximising opportunities for redeployment.

Syphilis

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of syphilis have been reported in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: Data on the number of sexually transmitted infections for 2005 for each region were published in 'Diagnoses of selected 577s by region, sex and age group United Kingdom: 1996-2005', by the Health Protection Agency on 4 July. A copy of the document is available in the Library. The report is freely available from their website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm.

Telephones (Hospitals)

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines her Department provides to hospital trusts on the use of mobile telephones by patients in hospitals.

Andy Burnham: The use of mobile telephones and other communication equipment in close proximity to certain electrically sensitive medical equipment is not advised, as the consequences of disrupting such equipment may cause direct harm to patients.
	However, it is the responsibility of individual trusts to assess the areas within hospitals where a total ban on the use of mobile telephones is appropriate on safety grounds. Restrictions in other areas of the hospital premises may be introduced for reasons other than their impact on the safety of medical equipment, such as the desire to reduce the disruption caused by the uncontrolled use of mobile telephones and the possible invasion of patients' privacy from telephones with built in cameras, for example.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recently published "Frequently asked questions on the use of mobile telephones in hospitals" on its website at www.mhra.gov.uk. This has links to other MHRA publications on the effects of mobile telephones on medical equipment.

UK Emergency Care Research

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will make detailed guidance available to NHS research and development departments on the implementation of the regulations in relation to UK Emergency Care Research and the introduction of the Medicine for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Dr. Taylor), on 10 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1619-20W. An amendment is under consideration which would allow researchers to enter incapacitated adults into trials of medicines for emergency treatments which have to be administered before there is time to obtain the consent of a legal representative. A further announcement will be made in the autumn.

Vocational General Practice Training Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had their posts on the Vocational General Practice Training Scheme suspended due to the Deanery's financial situation in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: In 2004-05, seven trainee general practitioners had their training deferred for six months, from August 2004 to February 2005, to help with the financial situation at London Deanery. This is the only time that this has happened in the last five years. In 2006-07, 29 trainees are having their training deferred until February 2007 but this is because fewer doctors have left their training posts than expected. All 29 have now been offered or have found alternative employment until February 2007.

Vocational General Practice Training Scheme

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures have been put in place to safeguard places on the Vocational General Practice Training Scheme in the event of a budget overspend by the Deanery.

Rosie Winterton: The priorities for investment of education and training funding are a matter for local strategic health authorities (SHAs), working with their deaneries in respect of medical education. This is therefore essentially a local matter for the SHA and their deanery to determine. We have been assured however that there is no intention to cut the number of funded training places on the London Deanery vocational general practice training scheme.

Weight Management Services

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what strategy the Department is using to extend weight management services to all who wish to access them; and what incentives are available to GPs to offer these services.

Caroline Flint: The White Papers "Choosing Health" and "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", set out a range of action to improve health and tackle obesity. The Department has published tools to support frontline health professionals in managing obesity locally and extend weight loss services. These include: "Guidance to Primary Care Trusts on Weighing and Measuring Children; an Obesity Care Pathway; a Weight Loss Guide; and a Patient Activity Questionnaire for over 16's". These tools were released in April and May this year and copies are available in the Library.
	Regarding incentives available to general practitioners (GPs) offering weight management services, the quality and outcomes framework for 2006-07 rewards GP practices for maintaining an obesity register. The recording of body mass index for the register is intended to be part of a practice's routine care.

York Hospital

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) medical,  (b) nursing and  (c) other professional staff were employed by York NHS Trust and NHS primary care services in Selby and York in 1996-97; and how many in each category are employed by York Hospital and Selby and York primary care trust (PCT), including the mental health services staff transferred from the hospital to the PCT.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  National health service staff ( 1, 2, 3, 4)  by specified organisation within the North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire strategic health authority (SHA) 
			  Number (headcount)( 5) 
			  1997 
			   North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Q11  York Hospitals NHS Trust RCB  Selby and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) 5E2 
			 All doctors(1, 3) 2,348 271 n/a 
			  Of which:
			 All Hospital and community health services (HCHS) medical and dental staff(3) 1,349 271 n/a 
			 All practitioners (excluding retainers)(1, 4) 999 n/a n/a 
			 GP (general practitioner) practice nurses(2) 639 n/a n/a 
			 Practice staff other than practice nurses 3,283 n/a n/a 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 8,708 1,928 n/a 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 2,453 506 n/a 
			 Qualified ambulance service staff 448 0 n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Number (headcount)( 5) 
			   2005 
			   North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire Q11  York Hospitals NHS Trust RCB  Selby and York Primary Care Trust PCT 5E2 
			 All doctors(1, 3) 3,351 352 276 
			  Of which:
			 All Hospital and community health services (HCHS) medical and dental staff(3) 2,173 352 48 
			 All practitioners (excluding retainers)(1, 4) 1,178 n/a 228 
			 GP (general practitioner) practice nurses(2) 782 n/a 123 
			 Practice staff other than practice nurses 3,238 n/a 549 
			 Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 10,500 1,335 697 
			 Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff 3,612 482 259 
			 Qualified ambulance service staff 691 0 0 
			 n/a = Not available (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers) includes contracted GPs, CMS Others, personal medical services (PMS) others and GP registrars. Prior to September 2004 this group included general medical services (GMS) unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, GP registrars, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners. (2) Practice staff includes practice nurses, direct patient care, admin and clerical, and other. (3) Excludes medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals (4) GP retainers were first collected in 1999 and have been omitted for comparability purposes (5) GP data as at 1 October 1997-1999, 30 September 2000-2005, HCHS Medical and Dental data as at 30 September each year, Non-Medical data as at 30  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census The Information Centre for health and social care general and personal medical services statistics The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol-related Crime (Humberside)

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol related crimes have  (a) been reported and  (b) resulted in convictions in Humberside Police Authority area in each of the last nine years; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: From the information collected centrally, it is not possible to identify those offences which are alcohol-related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in either the recorded crime or court proceedings data series.

Antisocial Behaviour

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted on the level of anti-social behaviour in local authority areas  (a) in England and  (b) in Wales.

John Reid: The following research covers some rather than all local authorities:
	A survey of perceptions of antisocial behaviour in 10 trailblazer areas (Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Camden, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Sunderland and Westminster);
	A survey of the use of powers to tackle antisocial behaviour among Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership areas; and
	The Anti-Social behaviour Unit (ASBU) One Day Count of antisocial behaviour which collected data on all reports of antisocial behaviour made to a range of agencies in September 2003.
	Statistical data are also collected on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) by local authority area, published at:
	www.crimereduction.gov.uk
	At police force level, there are two main sources of statistical data which are routinely collected and published by the Home Office. The British Crime Survey which measures experiences of criminal victimisation, perceptions of various types of disorder and experiences of antisocial behaviour in the last 12 months, and, the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey which measures levels of involvement in antisocial behaviour among 10 to 25-year-olds.
	Results from both the British Crime Survey and Offending, Crime and Justice Survey are available in the Home Office Online Report 49/04 (2004) "Perceptions and Experience of Antisocial Behaviour: Findings from the British Crime Survey", by Martin Wood and Home Office Statistical Bulletin 20/05 (2005) "Young People and Crime: Findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey" by Budd et al. These reports are available on:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds

Antisocial Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment is made of the effectiveness of measures taken to tackle antisocial behaviour in the Vale of Clwyd;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the take-up of provisions of anti-social behaviour legislation introduced since 1997 in each local authority area.

Tony McNulty: Although the data are not available in the form requested, we know that there has been a huge response both from practitioners (such as local authorities and the police) and from local communities in taking a stand to tackle antisocial behaviour. The tools and powers we have provided since 1997 are being used widely and wisely.
	For the last two years, we have carried out a survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England, and Community Safety Partnerships in Wales, asking about their actions taken to tackle antisocial behaviour. From those who responded to the surveys, the results are shown in the table.
	A Home Office data collection exercise carried out in July 2005 estimated that between January 2004 and June 2005, 809 areas were designated as dispersal areas.
	The latest number of Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued in England between April 1999 and September 2005 as reported to the Home Office is 7,026; there were 330 ASBOs issued in Wales, and 13 in Denbighshire, in the same period.
	Although we have made much progress there is still much more to be done. We must ensure that our approach is taken nationally so that, no matter where they live, communities should not have to suffer long-term antisocial behaviour problems. Therefore, as part of our work to rebalance the criminal justice system in favour of the law abiding majority, we intend to increase the take up of antisocial behaviour powers, and to reduce the variation in local performance.
	
		
			  Intervention  1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004  1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 
			 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts 5,094 8,654 
			 Parenting Contracts 307 1296 
			 Parenting Orders 229 537 
			 Injunctions 946 1614 
			 Evictions 654 822 
			 Closure Orders (1)176 338 
			 (1)This is for the period 20 January 2004 to 30 September 2004. The crack house closure power was introduced in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 and came into force on 20 January 2004.

Antisocial Behaviour

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many acceptable behaviour contracts have been issued in West Lancashire; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The data are not available in the form requested. However, for the last two years the Home Office Anti-social Behaviour Unit has carried out a survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Community safety Partnerships in Wales asking about their actions taken to tackle antisocial behaviour. From those who responded to the surveys the results are as follows.
	Acceptable Behaviour Contracts 1 October 2003 to 30 September 2004—5,094
	Acceptable Behaviour Contracts 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005—8,654

Antisocial Behaviour

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the recidivism rate of individuals who have received an antisocial behaviour order; and what steps he is taking to reduce the recidivism rate.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available.
	National re-offending rates are published annually. The most recent data are published in 'Adult re-offending: results from the 2002 cohort'. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 25/05'. This is available on the Home Office's website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html. The start point for calculating these rates is an offender being discharged from a custodial sentence or starting a community sentence. Antisocial behaviour orders are civil orders, not criminal penalties, and are therefore not included in this exercise.

Armed Robbery

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of robbery of a premises with a firearm occurred in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested cannot be provided at a borough level.
	
		
			  Table A: Offences of robbery recorded by City of London and Metropolitan police in which firearms were reported to have been used by location of offence,2000-01 to 2001-02 
			   2000-01  2001-02( 1) 
			 Shops, stall, etc 557 734 
			 Garage service station 63 73 
			 Post office 52 65 
			 Bank 63 69 
			 Building society 26 29 
			 Residential(2) 513 717 
			 Public highway 1,390 2,061 
			 Other premises or public space 372 451 
			 Total 3,036 4,199 
			 (1 )Figures may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (2 )These crimes are mostly burglaries where firearms have been used immediately before, or at the time of stealing items from a residential property, and in order to steal these items. If firearms are used in a get-away, then it is classed as a burglary and will not be included here. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Offences of robbery recorded by City of London and Metropolitan police in which firearms were reported to have been used by location of offence,2002-03 to 2004-05 
			   2002-03( 1)  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Shops, stall, etc 604 496 376 
			 Garage service station 73 46 49 
			 Post office 55 25 12 
			 Bank 39 10 42 
			 Building society 15 8 4 
			 Residential(2) 786 909 832 
			 Public highway 2,100 1,919 1,488 
			 Other premises or public space 529 478 894 
			 Total 4,201 3,891 3,697 
			 (1 )Figures may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. (2 )These crimes are mostly burglaries where firearms have been used immediately before, or at the time of stealing items from a residential property, and in order to steal these items. If firearms are used in a get-away, then it is classed as a burglary and will not be included here.

Chelmsford Prison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many toilets are provided in the temporary accommodation for visitors to Chelmsford Prison; and how many are connected to the main sewers.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are two toilets available in the temporary accommodation for visitors to Chelmsford Prison. One can be used by both able-bodied visitors and those with a disability. The second toilet provides a baby changing facility. Both are connected to the main sewers.

Chelmsford Prison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people each week visited prisoners at Chelmsford Prison on average in the last 12 months; and how many he estimates were children aged  (a) up to five,  (b) six to 11 and  (c) 12 to 16.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Over the past 12 months there has been an average of 533 visitors per week at Chelmsford. Of these an average of 39 were under five years of age, 15 were aged between six-11 years and 10 were aged between 12-16 years.
	These figures do not include children visiting the Ormiston Trust or the Homework Club, for which figures are not available.

Chelmsford Prison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the temporary accommodation for visitors to Chelmsford Prison was installed; and for how long it was expected to last.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The first portacabin was installed seven years ago and the second three years ago to accommodate increasing numbers of visitors. The portacabins were always intended to provide a long term facility.

Chelmsford Prison

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide permanent facilities for visitors to Chelmsford Prison; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: As part of a larger £36 million development, a new purpose-built facility is currently under construction and should be available from December 2006.

Child Prisoners

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many safe beds are available for child prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The term "safe beds" is not used in the young people's estate, but there are several design specifications that make rooms safer in terms of protecting young people from self-harm. The different specifications reflect improvements in design over time. Information on the number of rooms of the different safer specifications is not held centrally.

Communications Masts

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the rollout of the TETRA mast network; and what plans the Government has to ensure inter-operability and improve communications between the police and the other emergency services.

Tony McNulty: Airwave is the new radio communications system for the police service in England, Wales and Scotland. The rollout of the TETRA mast network is the responsibility of O2 Airwave who own the network. The network is already in place. Officers across the country using the network are able to communicate directly with each other, regardless of location. The other emergency services are currently updating their radio communications networks on a national basis and will also be using the Airwave service. When their new systems are fully operational their communications systems will interoperate seamlessly with the police network. Existing interoperability arrangements on the old radios used by the services will be maintained until the new systems are fully operational.

Community Punishments

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of community punishments in each region were completed in each year since 2001; in how many cases a period of imprisonment was then imposed for the original offence; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information for England and Wales on the completion rates the main types of community sentence, for each year since 1994, can be found in Table 5.1 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin: Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. Information on the numbers and percentages of those given immediate custody for breach of the main types of community sentence can be found in Table 5.5 of the same publication. Provisional data on completion rates in 2005 has been published in the latest Offender Management Caseload Quarterly Brief (October to December 2005) which is available on the Home Office website. The reliability of this data at the regional level is not sufficiently robust for publication.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Community Support Officers

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers are in training; what the cost is per person for such training; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Community Support Officers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers are employed in Lancashire.

Tony McNulty: At the end of September 2005 Lancashire constabulary had 159 police community support officers (PCSOs). With the additional funding we are providing in 2006-07 Lancashire has a target to reach a total of 417 PCSOs by April 2007.

Community Support Officers

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers were in training in Humberside Police Authority area on the last date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Humberside Police are currently in the process of training 34 police community support officers (PCSOs). They expect to train 195 during 2006-07.

Controlled Drugs

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to a re-assignment of the duties of the inspectorate responsible for controlled drugs; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office continues to examine ways of improving and streamlining existing Home Office licensing and inspection activities but no final decisions have yet been made.

Correspondence

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the hon. Member for North-West Norfolk's correspondence of 30 January regarding the handling of complaints by the Prison Service about prison governors.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I met with the hon. Gentleman on 12 July to discuss the various issues raised in his correspondence. I will write to him shortly to cover a range of related matters.

Council Tax

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average Band D police precept on council tax was in each year since 1997-98 in  (a) England,  (b) Wales and  (c) England and Wales.

Tony McNulty: The information is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Average Band D council tax of police authorities for England and Wales in real terms at 2004-05 prices 
			  £ 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-00  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 England(1) 65 68 72 77 84 94 115 126 130 134 
			 Wales(1) 57 65 74 89 93 98 118 133 135 139 
			 England and Wales(1) 64 68 72 77 85 94 115 126 130 134 
			 (1) Real Term values calculated using Treasury GDP deflators as at March 2006  Notes: England figures exclude the City of London  Source:  Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and National Assembly for Wales

Council Tax

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females were sent to prison for non-payment of council tax in each year since 1993, broken down by age group.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on number of prisoners received into prison under non-criminal categories of imprisonment is to be found in table 7.10 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004. This is a web-only table and can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html
	Figures are shown for all years since 1993 for the categories community charge/council tax and rates. The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately by age group because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to British victims of terrorist attacks abroad.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have no plans to extend the scope of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to cover injuries sustained abroad. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are developing proposals for establishing a charitable fund to help victims of terrorist attacks overseas, and hope to be able to announce further details in the coming months.
	
		
			  Number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences relating to drunkenness in Suffolk police force area( 1,2 ) 1997 to 2004 
			   Offence description — drunkenness with aggravation( 3) 
			 1997 254 
			 1998 194 
			 1999 197 
			 2000 202 
			 2001 244 
			 2002 301 
			 2003 317 
			 2004 293 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3 )Includes the offence of "drunk and disorderly" (Criminal Justice Act 1967 sec. 91) and other miscellaneous offences of drunkenness with aggravations.  Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Justice

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average period elapsed between sentencing and tariff setting in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of children and young adults  (a) on remand and  (b) after conviction have been placed in custody more than 100 miles from their home.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In October 2005, the latest date for which figures are available, 40 young people under 18 and 49 18 to 20-year-olds were placed on remand or committal for sentence more than 100 miles from home. Expressed as a percentage, 7.7 per cent. of unconvicted under-18-year-olds and 4.1 per cent. of unconvicted 18 to 20-year-olds were placed more than 100 miles from home.
	As to sentenced offenders: 176 under-18-year-olds (9.5 per cent.) and 738 18 to 20-year-olds (11 per cent.) were placed over 100 miles from home.
	This information is derived from the Prison Service and Youth Justice Board databases. Home address details are not held for all offenders: where the home address is not recorded, the address of the court before which he or she appeared is used as a proxy. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of children and young adults with a mental illness while in custody in  (a) 1985,  (b) 1995 and  (c) 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is not available in the form requested. A survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales in 1997, by the Office for National Statistics, examined for five types of mental disorder: personality disorder; psychosis; neurotic disorder; drug dependence; and hazardous drinking. A copy is available in the Library.
	Source:
	 Psychiatric Morbidity Amongst Prisoners in England and Wales (ONS, 1998)

Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-harm and abuse of children and young adults in custody have been recorded  (a) in the past 12 months and  (b) since 2000, broken down by sex of victim.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information available centrally is incomplete and could be misleading, because different categories of secure establishment have used different counting methods. The Youth Justice Board is currently working with the Prison Service, operators of secure training centres and secure children's homes to agree common recording standards and reporting practices for statistical data. We believe this will both improve the quality and increase the range of available aggregated information about young people in custody.

Custody

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children and young adults are in custody, broken down by  (a) ethnic origin and  (b) religious belief.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on  (a) the ethnic origin and  (b) the religious beliefs of the population in prison establishments in England and Wales by age group is given in the web-only tables 8.30 and 8.33 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, available at the following web address.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1705section8.xls
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Departmental Publications

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what draft Bills have been produced by his Department since October 2005; how many were  (a) examined and  (b) are planned to be examined by (i) a departmental Select Committee and (ii) a Joint Committee; what draft Bills are still to be produced by his Department; when each is expected to be published; how many clauses each has; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Since October 2005, no draft Bills have been produced by the Home Office.
	Announcements on future legislation and future draft legislation which will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny will be indicated in the Queen's Speech.

Departmental War Room

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department's War Room was established; how many officials are allocated to it, broken down by grade; what its  (a) objectives and  (b) purposes are; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The composition of the team working on the Home Office and the Immigration Nationality Directorate reviews has varied in number and skills week by week as the project moved through phases of work.

Detention Occupancy Rates

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the occupancy rate was for each  (a) prison,  (b) young offenders institution,  (c) secure training centre and  (d) local authority secure unit in each of the past 20 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the occupancy rate of all prison establishments (including young offender institutions) in England and Wales between 1992 and 2006 can be found in monthly tables held by the House of Commons Library Statistical Resource Unit. Equivalent information for 1986 to 1992 cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
	Information on the occupancy rate of Secure Children's Homes in England and Wales is provided by the Department for Education and Skills. Information for 2001 to 2005 is published on their website (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/index.s html); information for 1998 to 2000 is in the following table; earlier years are not available. Information on the occupancy rate of Secure Training Centres is not available in this form.
	
		
			  Secure children's homes: occupancy rate at 31 March 1998 
			   Percentage 
			 All units 80 
			 Aycliffe Centre 80 
			 Netherton Park 56 
			 Kyloe House 75 
			 Sutton Place 90 
			 Aldine House 75 
			 East Moor CH 100 
			 Redsands CC 88 
			 Briars Hey CH 50 
			 Dales House 100 
			 Barton Moss SU 95 
			 Dyson Hall CH 100 
			 St. Helens/Redbank 65 
			 Redbank CH-VH 100 
			 St. Catherines CH 100 
			 Watling House 42 
			 St. Johns Safe Centre 100 
			 Stoke House 81 
			 125C Market St 100 
			 Kesteven House 75 
			 Tiffied St. John's 100 
			 Clayfields House 61 
			 Salters 69 
			 Thornbury House 67 
			 Stamford House 94 
			 Orchard Lodge 88 
			 Robeson Unit 100 
			 Pankhurst Unit 100 
			 Swanick Lodge 50 
			 Landsdowne CC 80 
			 Beechfield 50 
			 Vinney Green 82 
			 Neath Hillside 78 
			  Source:  Department for Education and Skills 
		
	
	
		
			  Secure children's homes: occupancy rate at 31 March 1999 
			   Percentage 
			 All units 75 
			 Aycliffe Centre 59 
			 Kyloe House 100 
			 Sutton Place 100 
			 Aldine House 88 
			 East Moor CH 83 
			 Redsands CC 88 
			 Dales House 50 
			 Barton Moss SU 80 
			 Dyson Hall CH 10 
			 Redbank CH-SU 31 
			 Redbank CH-VH 67 
			 St. Catherines CH 100 
			 Watling House 67 
			 St. Johns Safe Centre 100 
			 Stoke House 100 
			 125C Market St 75 
			 Kesteven House 75 
			 Tiffied St. John's 81 
			 Clayfields House 78 
			 Salters 100 
			 Leverton 94 
			 Stamford House 81 
			 Orchard Lodge 100 
			 Pankhurst Unit 63 
			 Swanick Lodge 56 
			 Landsdowne CC 60 
			 Beechfieid 117 
			 Vmney Green 100 
			 Atkinson Unit 81 
			 Neath Hillside 83 
			 Briars Hey — 
			 Thornbury — 
			  Source:  Department for Education and Skills 
		
	
	
		
			  Secure children's homes: occupancy rate at 31 March 2000 
			   Percentage 
			 All units 82 
			 Briars Hey 75 
			 Beechfield 83 
			 St. Catherines CH 100 
			 Atkinson Unit 94 
			 Swanick Lodge 38 
			 Clare Lodge/Salters 100 
			 Dyson Hall CH 100 
			 Leverton 94 
			 Landsdowne CC 100 
			 Redsands CC 100 
			 Dales House 75 
			 Aldine House 88 
			 Kesteven House 100 
			 Watling House 83 
			 St. Johns/Earlswood 100 
			 Orchard Lodge 88 
			 Redbank NH 93 
			 Redbank VH 86 
			 Redbank WH 86 
			 125C Market St/Brunel 63 
			 Sutton Place 40 
			 Thornbury 71 
			 Barton Moss SU 75 
			 Kyloe House 100 
			 Clayfields House 89 
			 Tiffied St. John's 63 
			 Vinney Green 91 
			 Stoke House 100 
			 Aycliffe Centre 65 
			 East Moor CH 100 
			 Stamford House 74 
			 Neath Hillside 61 
			  Source:  Department for Education and Skills

Dispersal Orders

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1035W, on dispersal orders, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on the number of dispersal orders authorised.

Tony McNulty: We have been collecting the number of authorisations for dispersal powers by police force area since April 2006. This data will be collected on a quarterly basis. Data will be published later this year.

DNA Database

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone), of 5 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 293-4W, on the DNA database, if he will break the figures down by country making the request.

Joan Ryan: The majority of requests for the exchange of DNA information between the United Kingdom and other countries are routed through the United Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Other channels may include bi-lateral direct liaison between law enforcement authorities; and formal mutual legal assistance channels. Exchanges of DNA information via these channels will almost always be a response to the needs of a specific criminal investigation.
	Requests from international law enforcement agencies for a search of the National DNA Database are only processed where it is clear that the request is in the interest of prevention and detection of crime, national security or the data subject. They are also subject to a risk assessment, taking into account the justification for and proportionality of disclosure of the information in line with human rights. If cleared for processing, a one-off speculative search of the Database is made by the Custodian and information fed back to UK NCB.
	The UK NCB is not currently able to provide data on the number of requests received from other countries but only on the number of requests processed and dealt with by the Database Custodian. As indicated in the answer of 5 June, 519 search requests have been dealt with by the Database Custodian since 2004 and responses provided back to UK NCB in each case (this includes searches of the UK DNA Database at the request of other countries as well as preparing profiles in order for UK law enforcement agencies to request searches overseas).
	Data on the countries to which DNA profiles have been sent in pursuit of specific criminal investigations could only be provided at disproportionate cost as the majority of the data are not currently held electronically. This information will be available later this year following the introduction of a new data collection system (this will not apply to retrospective data).
	Data are not collected on the number of exchanges of DNA information which occur through direct liaison between law enforcement authorities or formal mutual legal assistance channels.

DNA Database

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1409W, on the DNA database, if he will place in the Library the data on use of DNA for crime detection in 2005-06.

Joan Ryan: Data provided to the Home Office by police forces indicates that there were 20,349 direct DNA detections in 2005-06 i.e. there were 20,349 crimes detected in which a DNA match report was available. In addition, a further 19,960 crimes were detected in 2005-06 as a result of further investigations linked to the original case in which DNA was recovered. This gives a total of 40,309 detections in 2005-06 arising directly or indirectly from the DNA match, compared with 35,605 detections in 2004-05.

Drink-driving

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests and  (b) convictions for drink-driving resulted in custodial sentences in each year since 1997, broken down by police authority.

Tony McNulty: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally. Information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on convictions and custodial sentences for drink-driving offences by police force area 1997 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table.
	Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt and immediate custodial sentences at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs by police force area, England and Wales 1997-2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   1997  1998  1999 
			   Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1)  Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1)  Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,812 163 2,566 157 2,728 165 
			 Bedfordshire 1,146 119 1,060 96 869 87 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,092 56 1,060 62 941 43 
			 Cheshire 1,969 97 1,903 119 1,827 133 
			 Cleveland 926 61 870 63 811 57 
			 Cumbria 931 49 856 51 871 37 
			 Derbyshire 1,612 147 1,547 202 1,463 181 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,342 91 2,265 127 2,277 112 
			 Dorset 1,214 93 1,186 88 1,120 96 
			 Durham 1,044 66 1,035 53 1,137 81 
			 Essex 2,736 228 2,438 233 2,528 261 
			 Gloucestershire 1,067 48 985 36 889 51 
			 Greater Manchester 4,806 440 4,715 453 4,850 464 
			 Hampshire 3,774 243 3,597 231 3,725 213 
			 Hertfordshire 1,670 90 1,672 91 1,679 90 
			 Humberside 1,274 76 1,358 87 1,323 97 
			 Kent 2,321 97 2,627 155 2,633 133 
			 Lancashire 3,389 224 2,945 178 3,010 184 
			 Leicestershire 1,648 183 1,485 140 1,624 188 
			 Lincolnshire 1,088 47 979 36 941 44 
			 London, City of 436 8 301 9 236 5 
			 Merseyside 2,719 304 2,451 326 2,137 296 
			 Met Police 16,165 1,270 13,889 1,050 12,414 838 
			 Norfolk 1,116 49 1,118 43 1,010 64 
			 Northamptonshire 1,107 109 1,062 73 1,058 91 
			 Northumbria 2,625 184 2,457 194 2,463 229 
			 North Yorkshire 1,365 77 1,205 77 1,124 60 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,031 255 1,804 247 1,802 262 
			 South Yorkshire 2,296 204 2,002 178 1,927 149 
			 Staffordshire(2) 2,036 132 1,955 140 1,711 143 
			 Suffolk 1,050 53 1,042 60 1,089 71 
			 Surrey 1,380 64 1,328 58 1,417 47 
			 Sussex 2,373 110 2,113 113 2,224 120 
			 Thames Valley 4,070 215 3,896 195 3,725 216 
			 Warwickshire 837 44 784 53 856 38 
			 West Mercia 1,947 87 1,794 97 1,747 114 
			 West Midlands 6,351 598 5,582 532 4,775 532 
			 West Yorkshire 3,953 394 3,669 329 3,597 358 
			 Wiltshire 1,043 27 1,108 39 1,009 45 
			 England 93,761 6,802 86,709 6,471 83,567 6,395 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 1,029 44 995 38 944 48 
			 Gwent 1,166 61 1,203 84 1,079 78 
			 North Wales 1,354 96 1,306 95 1,248 94 
			 South Wales 2,892 257 2,903 239 2,526 282 
			 Wales 6,441 458 6,407 456 5,797 502 
			
			 England and Wales 100,202 7,260 93,116 6,927 89,364 6,897 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2000  2001  2002 
			   Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1)  Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1)  Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,462 152 2,197 129 2,401 124 
			 Bedfordshire 797 89 914 79 955 82 
			 Cambridgeshire 793 41 813 51 852 41 
			 Cheshire 1,652 122 1,529 96 1,993 103 
			 Cleveland 777 56 887 77 921 71 
			 Cumbria 806 50 761 51 768 37 
			 Derbyshire 1,417 126 1,411 140 1,465 164 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,199 104 2,369 128 2,441 95 
			 Dorset 1,115 84 1,150 91 1,199 83 
			 Durham 1,124 76 1,097 86 1,136 68 
			 Essex 2,462 237 2,456 264 2,522 267 
			 Gloucestershire 804 37 865 39 926 44 
			 Greater Manchester 4,801 428 4,715 454 4,720 474 
			 Hampshire 3,472 244 3,464 235 3,846 243 
			 Hertfordshire 1,552 98 1,666 94 1,894 90 
			 Humberside 1,371 128 1,259 126 1,395 113 
			 Kent 2,592 134 2,575 165 2,745 152 
			 Lancashire 2,584 163 2,304 148 2,599 159 
			 Leicestershire 1,531 152 1,546 140 1,659 140 
			 Lincolnshire 816 48 877 60 847 56 
			 London, City of 162 4 162 10 221 12 
			 Merseyside 2,128 286 2,195 217 2,293 216 
			 Met Police 11,801 891 11,260 928 12,905 927 
			 Norfolk 935 45 1,143 75 1,220 55 
			 Northamptonshire 782 90 399 65 236 35 
			 Northumbria 2,621 215 2,529 217 2,588 188 
			 North Yorkshire 1,073 67 1,066 55 1,119 63 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,722 210 1,598 187 1,420 129 
			 South Yorkshire 2,122 170 2,020 159 1,945 165 
			 Staffordshire(2) n/a n/a 1,513 136 1,704 143 
			 Suffolk 902 74 920 43 1,105 79 
			 Surrey 1,539 61 1,592 65 1,614 68 
			 Sussex 2,112 136 2,358 128 2,306 149 
			 Thames Valley 3,496 212 3,275 210 4,317 219 
			 Warwickshire 786 42 880 33 841 40 
			 West Mercia 1,631 101 1,740 91 1,719 93 
			 West Midlands 4,559 451 4,914 471 5,050 438 
			 West Yorkshire 3,375 287 3,220 331 3,564 268 
			 Wiltshire 930 28 1,045 53 1,005 54 
			 England 79,671 6,076 78,684 6,127 84,456 5,947 
			
			 Dyfed Powys 858 45 867 36 927 47 
			 Gwent 1,211 99 1,152 76 1,074 74 
			 North Wales 1,332 92 1,227 87 1,270 71 
			 South Wales 2,757 255 2,812 295 2,761 236 
			 Wales 6,158 491 6,058 494 6,032 428 
			
			 England and Wales 85,829 6,567 84,742 6,621 90,488 6,375 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			   2003  2004 
			   Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1)  Findings of guilt  Immediate custody( 1) 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,666 167 2,692 145 
			 Bedfordshire 1,072 72 1,028 65 
			 Cambridgeshire 933 56 1,083 52 
			 Cheshire 1,905 110 2,128 106 
			 Cleveland 981 61 1,071 60 
			 Cumbria 843 37 907 50 
			 Derbyshire 1,617 168 1,874 143 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,667 121 2,560 120 
			 Dorset 1,264 73 1,239 52 
			 Durham 1,170 77 1,277 80 
			 Essex 2,622 311 2,853 347 
			 Gloucestershire 890 37 913 36 
			 Greater Manchester 4,743 437 4,811 383 
			 Hampshire 3,663 234 3,743 199 
			 Hertfordshire 1,904 78 1,881 94 
			 Humberside 1,445 150 1,623 112 
			 Kent 2,811 179 3,010 155 
			 Lancashire 2,652 146 2,706 125 
			 Leicestershire 1,725 143 1,754 145 
			 Lincolnshire 1,111 42 1,209 46 
			 London, City of 235 4 169 5 
			 Merseyside 2,687 215 2,849 261 
			 Met Police 12,621 922 13,227 832 
			 Norfolk 1,274 59 1,240 64 
			 Northamptonshire 799 65 922 73 
			 Northumbria 2,747 187 2,675 183 
			 North Yorkshire 1,194 51 1,131 40 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,644 149 1,669 111 
			 South Yorkshire 2,089 125 2,224 140 
			 Staffordshire(2) 1,733 141 1,733 124 
			 Suffolk 1,213 66 1,332 89 
			 Surrey 1,464 44 1,425 51 
			 Sussex 2,430 120 2,368 104 
			 Thames Valley 3,884 159 3,539 190 
			 Warwickshire 918 33 845 23 
			 West Mercia 1,797 100 1,689 103 
			 West Midlands 5,233 420 5,584 423 
			 West Yorkshire 3,720 260 3,897 276 
			 Wiltshire 1,031 62 1,024 39 
			 England 87,397 5,881 89,904 5,646 
			  
			 Dyfed Powys 995 46 986 6 
			 Gwent 1,149 94 1,188 5 
			 North Wales 1,326 76 1,349 6 
			 South Wales 2,840 211 2,811 35 
			 Wales 6,310 427 6,334 52 
			  
			 England and Wales 93,707 6,308 96,238 5,698 
			 n/a = not available (1) Immediate custody includes sentences of Secure Training Order, Detention and Training Order, Young Offender Institution and Unsuspended sentence of imprisonment. (2) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at detailed level and have been excluded from the table.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Drink-driving

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of drivers convicted of drink driving  (a) received a fine,  (b) received a jail sentence and  (c) were banned from driving in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform is given in the table for 2004 (latest available). Data for 2005 will be available early in 2007.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts and sentence and order imposed for the offences of 'driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs'( 1) , England and Wales, 2004 
			  Number of offences 
			   Number  Percentage 
			 Total findings of guilt 96,238 100 
			
			  Sentence or order   
			 Fine 66,433 69 
			 Immediate custody(2) 6,059 6 
			
			 Disqualification(3) 90,308 94 
			 (1) Offences under Road Traffic Act 1988 s4(1) and (2), 5(1a) and (b), 6(4), 7(6), and s7A as added by Police Reform Act 2002 s56. (2) Immediate custody = detention and training order, young offender institution and unsuspended sentence of imprisonment. (3) Secondary disposal.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Drugs

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been for drug offences in Leicester South constituency in each of the last three years for which figures are available, broken down by local authority ward.

Tony McNulty: Drug offence data cannot be broken down by constituency or to a more local level. Available data relate to persons found guilty of drug offences at Leicester's crown, magistrate and youth courts and are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Persons( 1)  found guilty of drug offences in Leicester, 2002 to 2004 
			   Number 
			 2002 679 
			 2003 721 
			 2004 669 
			 (1) Where a person is found guilty of two or more drugs offences at the same court appearance the sentence or order shown in this table is the most severe penalty.

Drugs

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the differences between figures given in the England and Wales Findings Paper 265 and the latest Home Office Drug Seizures and Offenders Statistical bulletin in relation to seizures of methadone in 2000 and cocaine and heroin in 2001.

Vernon Coaker: After a very thorough review of data, I can confirm that the figures quoted in "Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales 2003" (Findings 265) for the number of seizures of methadone in 2000 (1,010) and both number/quantity of seizures of cocaine (6,530/5,210 kg) and heroin (14,630/4,000 kg) in 2001 are correct.
	Seizures data for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise published in "Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, UK, 2001 and 2002" (Home. Office Statistical Bulletin 08/04) were restricted to seizures at the London airports. However, data presented in Findings 265 were for all Customs' seizures in England and Wales. While the number of seizures were largely unaffected, it resulted in increased overall figures for the quantity of drugs seized.
	The figure quoted in Findings 265 for the quantity of methadone seized in 2000 (380 kg) is, however, incorrect. Police in England and Wales seized 91.585 kg of methadone in 2000, with Customs seizing 0.68 kg as well as 284 tablets. For the purposes of reporting the tablets should not have been included in the Findings' tables. The revised total quantity figure is 92.265 kg, which will be rounded down to 90 kg in the next "Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales" Home Office Statistical Bulletin.

Education Act

Stephen Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times prosecutions have been brought by North Tyneside local education authority under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 14 July 2006
	Prosecutions for truancy related to section seven are brought under section 444 of the Education Act 1996.
	We do not collect prosecutions data under the Education Act 1996 by Local education authority. However, data from the Court Proceedings Database (held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform), for the Tyneside local justice area shows the number of prosecutions under the Education Act 1996 as:
	Four in 2000, six in 2001, 36 in 2002,17 in 2003 and 10 in 2004. There were no prosecutions recorded specifically under sections 444(1) or 444(1 A) of the Act—though we consider the figures provided may include offences under section 444.
	Court proceedings data for 2005 will be available in autumn of 2006.

Electronic Tagging

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in England and Wales are electronically tagged; and how many are  (a) on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme and  (b) under a curfew order passed down by the courts.

Gerry Sutcliffe: According to the latest figures available, the total number of people who are subject to electronic monitoring in England and Wales is as shown in the table.
	
		
			   Number 
			  (a) Home Detention Curfew Scheme (at 2 June 2006) 2,804 
			  (b) Court-imposed curfews (at 31 May 2006) 7,692 
			  (c) Others (at 31 May 2006) 2,378

Feltham Young Offender Institution

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to satisfy himself that the  (a) Governor and  (b) management team at Feltham Young Offender Institution are able to carry out the recommendations of the Mubarek Report.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Mr. Justice Keith's report into the death of Zahid Mubarek contains recommendations to be implemented by the National Offender Management Service, Court Service, Department of Health, Department for Communities and Local Government and the police.
	The recommendations do not specifically apply to Feltham prison they apply to all prisons. A full response to all the recommendations will be given within two months as stated by the Home Secretary in his statement of 29 June.

Fixed Penalty Notices

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) prosecutions and  (b) fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers of commercial vehicles in each London borough in the last year for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information collected centrally by my department on motoring offences does not distinguish between the characteristics of the vehicles involved.

Foreign Prisoners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners have claimed to be from  (a) Russia,  (b) Romania,  (c) Georgia,  (d) Armenia,  (e) Azerbaijan,  (f) Ukraine,  (g) China,  (h) Belarus,  (i) Iceland,  (j) the United States,  (k) Canada,  (l) Antarctica,  (m) Argentina,  (n) Chile,  (o) Peru,  (p) Ecuador,  (q) Bolivia,  (r) Brazil,  (s) Uruguay,  (t), Paraguay,  (u) Angola,  (v) Namibia,  (w) Botswana,  (x) Zambia,  (y) Burundi,  (z) Tanzania and  (aa) Malawi (i) on being sentenced to a custodial sentence and (ii) on arrival in custody in each of the last nine years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the number of foreign nationals who have claimed to be from the countries listed at (a)-(aa) (i) on being sentenced to a custodial sentence, and (ii) on arrival in custody in each of the last nine years is not held centrally.
	In a written ministerial statement of 19 July 2006,  Official Report, Columns 28-30WS, my hon. Friend the Minister of State Minister of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality updated the House on the progress which has been made on the eight priority action areas to improve our effectiveness in deporting foreign national prisoners. He made clear that the criminal justice agencies are working together with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to ensure that information on the nationality of those who come into contact with the criminal justice system are collected as early as possible.
	Information on the nationality recorded on the central prison IT system for foreign nationals held in prison establishments in England and Wales is available as follows:
	1997-2002: Table 6.2 of Prison Statistics England and Wales 1997 to 2002, available from the House of Commons Library.
	2003: Table 8.27 of the web tables for Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2003.
	2004: Table 8.27 of the web tables for Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004.
	2005: Detailed web table 2.14 of Population in Custody Quarterly Brief April to June 2005.
	These web tables are available at the following web address.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html
	Information is not presented separately for the following nationalities:-
	Antarctica—this is not a recognised nationality and any such records are included in unrecorded/other in the statistical tables;
	Ukraine and Belarus are not recorded separately on the current prison IT systems and are included in Russia;
	Although the nationality recorded on the central prison IT system is likely to be based on prisoners' declared nationality, in some cases an individual's nationality may have been updated because of new information received.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.

Foreign Prisoners

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners in each open prison were moved into closed prisons in (a) May and (b) June.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Fraud

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) will take of the National Fraud Strategy in planning its work; and whether SOCA will have specific targets for the prevention and reduction of fraud.

Vernon Coaker: We need to have a coherent strategy for preventing, detecting and bringing fraud to justice that meets our current need; this issue has been considered by the wide ranging cross Government Review of Fraud. The Home Secretary's letter setting priorities for the Serious Organised Crime Agency in its first three years of operation has been laid before Parliament. The priorities set out there include tackling organised crime threats from fraud against individuals and the private sector. The SOCA Board has subsequently determined that approximately 10 per cent. of its overall effort should be devoted to this area.

Headcam Technology

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the  (a) reliability and  (b) usefulness of headcam technology in tackling crime; if he will make resources available to make this technology more widely available to the police; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 July 2006
	The potential for this technology to assist in tackling crime is recognised. The Police Standards Unit, supported by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch and the Police Information Technology Organisation is consequently organising and funding a six-month trial to evaluate reliability, usefulness and other aspects. The trial is planned to commence on 1 September 2006 in conjunction with Devon and Cornwall constabulary, with the intention of establishing good practice and procedure by the end of the year.
	Once the results of the trial are available, an assessment will be made of the cost-benefit of making the technology more widely available to the police, in comparison with other investment options for tackling crime.

Heroin/Cocaine

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government's policy on reducing the supply of heroin and cocaine was informed by the Strategy Unit Phase one Drugs Report of 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The report was submitted as a contribution to a debate across Government on drug strategy, and influenced the revised supply side strategy, adopted in 2004, which has as its objective the reduction of the harms caused by drug supply to UK communities.

Hizb-Ut-Tahrir

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from  (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and  (b) the security services on the proscription of Hizb-Ut-Tahrir; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We do not comment on individual groups that may be possible candidates for proscription.

HM Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is provided by HM Prison Service to governor grade staff on authorising release of prisoners  (a) under the Criminal Justice Acts,  (b) on temporary licence and  (c) on home detention curfew; and whether this training is mandatory.

Gerry Sutcliffe: For the information about training provided by the Prison Service to governor grade staff, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 5 June 2006,  Official Report, column 295W. Since February 2003 no training has been described as mandatory: training is provided when necessary to enable an individual to fulfil a role.

Honour Crimes

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of honour crimes committed in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: Estimates on the number of honour crimes are not available from the recorded crime statistics.

Human Trafficking

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by his Department to raise awareness of human trafficking amongst the clients of prostitutes.

Vernon Coaker: On 5 January 2006, the Home Office launched a three month national consultation exercise on proposals for a UK action plan on human trafficking. A summary of responses report was published on 21 June. A number of respondents commented on the issue of raising awareness amongst those who pay for sexual services of the consequences of having sexual intercourse with a trafficked person. We intend to consider the consultation responses over the next few months with the aim of producing a final UK Action Plan by the end of the year.
	During the recent, police-led operation on trafficking for sexual exploitation (called Operation Pentameter) specific awareness raising measures were undertaken. These included writing to publishing houses that have men's magazines and pornographic titles asking for them to be informed on the issue of trafficking and for support in terms of editorial copy and advertising space. In addition, leaflets were produced and distributed at airports to raise awareness amongst men travelling to the World Cup. An article was also placed in the England supporter's magazine 'Fanzine' handed out before the England football matches in Germany. The work undertaken by Operation Pentameter will be carried on by the UK Human Trafficking Centre which was announced on 21 June.

Human Trafficking

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of raising awareness of human trafficking amongst the clients of prostitutes.

Vernon Coaker: The recent consultation exercise on proposals for the UK Action Plan included questions on how to reduce demand for the services of trafficked persons. As part of the development of the final UK Action Plan consideration will be given to how awareness campaigns can be monitored for their effectiveness. During the course of Operation Pentameter internet websites for users of prostitutes were monitored. The monitoring demonstrated that there was an increased awareness of the issue as a direct result of the activity undertaken by Operation Pentameter.
	The work undertaken by Pentameter will be carried on by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, the establishment of which was announced on 21 June.

Human Trafficking

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police and  (b) government officials have been seconded to the source countries of victims of human trafficking to discuss and implement prevention strategies in the last five years; and how many reciprocated secondments of staff there have been from those countries.

Vernon Coaker: It would not be appropriate to comment on the operational deployment of law enforcement staff involved in the prevention of serious organised crime.

Identity Fraud

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent meetings he has had with other members of the Government to discuss tackling identity fraud;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with experts from  (a) academia,  (b) the private sector and  (c) the police on tackling identity fraud.

Joan Ryan: Work on identity fraud reduction is led by the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) and supported by the Identity Fraud Forum (IFF). The IFSC and IFF members come from the police, academia, the private sector and Government Departments. The IFSC and the IFF meet regularly to take forward the Government's work on reducing identity fraud, and to co-ordinate this activity across all sectors. A number of sub-groups meets on a regular basis to identify, scope and prioritise opportunities to reduce identity fraud.

Identity Fraud

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken by his Department to tackle identity fraud since July 2005; and what action is planned between July 2006 and July 2007.

Joan Ryan: The Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) was established in 2003 to lead a cross public/private sector work programme to tackle identity fraud and there has been a great deal of activity to reduce identity fraud in the last year.
	In September 2005 we launched a leaflet which provides the public with a quick and easy guide on things to look out for that indicate that they may be at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, or that they are already a victim. The leaflet has been distributed to main police stations, public libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Identity and Passport Service regional offices, local DVLA offices and all MPs to assist when engaging with constituents. An online version can be found on the identity theft website. The leaflet has been co-branded by a number of organisations such as banks and credit reference agencies who have made it available to their customers and distributed by the National Neighbourhood Watch Association. We plan to continue our identity fraud awareness during the coming year by targeting particular social groups who are more at risk of identity fraud.
	In December 2005 we established a network of Single Points of Contact (SPOC) in all police forces and a range of government departments and agencies for dealing with identity fraud investigations and prosecutions. The network will continue its work and a SPOC seminar is due to take place in September 2006.
	We continue to make improvements to the security of the UK Passport. In March 2006 we began the introduction of biometric passports. Roll-out of the enhanced authentication and checking of passport applications via the Personal Identity Process was completed in June 2006. The Passport Validation Service has been operating during the past year and will be extended to other organisations. The introduction of interviews for first time adult passport applicants will also help to reduce identity fraud.
	On 10 May 2006 we introduced an amendment to the Police and Justice Bill to allow information on the recently deceased to be shared with law enforcement agencies, and other organisations to be specified by order, to prevent the identities of deceased people being used to commit fraud. Subject to Royal Assent the sharing of death information will commence around July 2007.
	On 7 June 2006 we brought into force the offences in the Identity Cards Act 2006 which create new criminal offences of being in possession of or controlling false identity documents. Investigation of offences under these provisions is already underway.
	On 17 July 2006 the Home Office published a consultation document on combating organised and financial crime which includes proposals to improve the use of public and private sector data to prevent crime, in particular fraud and identity fraud. The consultation will finish on 17 October 2006.
	Improving identity management and the development of ID cards are essential components in the fight against identity fraud and this work will continue next year.

Identity Fraud

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much his Department spent on tackling identity fraud through public awareness campaigns in 1997 in each  (a) year since and  (b) month since July 2005;
	(2)  what advice his Department has issued to the public on steps to combat identity fraud.

Joan Ryan: The Home Office became responsible for identity fraud in 2003 following the Cabinet Office report Identity Fraud: A Study, published in 2002. We established the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) to lead a public-private sector work programme to tackle identity fraud. The IFSC set up a website www.identitytheft.org.uk which explains to the public how to keep personal information safe, how to get help if one is the victim of identity theft, and what is being done to tackle this growing crime. The website was set up and is maintained without Government funding.
	Information on identity fraud is also available as a leaflet which provides the public with a quick and easy guide on things to look for that indicate they may be at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft or fraud, and what to do if they are already a victim. The leaflet has been distributed to main police stations, public libraries, Citizens Advice Bureaux, Identity and Passport Service regional offices, local DVLA offices and all MPs (to assist when engaging with constituents). An online version can be found on the identity theft website. The leaflet has been co-branded by a number of organisations such as banks and credit reference agencies, who make it available to their customers. The leaflet has also been distributed by the National Neighbourhood Watch Association.
	The Home Office spent £24,956.08 on identity fraud awareness campaign material in the financial year 2005-06 (the first year in which we paid for such material). There has been no expenditure so far this year; further activity is planned.

Identity Fraud

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Humberside police authority area were  (a) charged with and  (b) victims of identity fraud in each of the last nine years; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ryan: The Government take the problem of identity fraud very seriously. There is no single offence of identity fraud. On seven June 2006 we brought into force sections 25 and 26 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 which created new criminal offences of being in possession or control of false identity documents. These offences relate to a wide range of identity documents, including passports, driving licences, ID cards and immigration documents. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment for an offence of possession with intent to use the document for establishing registrable facts about another person, such as name, address, date of birth and other personal details, and two years imprisonment for possession without reasonable excuse. Investigation of offences under these provisions is already under way and statistics on the number of prosecutions and convictions will be published in due course.
	There is also a range of other criminal offences to combat identity fraud. These include, for example, the offences in the Theft Acts of 1968 and 1978 of obtaining property by deception (property includes money), obtaining services by deception and obtaining a money transfer by deception. The number of these offences that were committed using a false or stolen identity is not recorded centrally and it is not possible to provide such figures for Humberside or any other area. However, identity theft and identity fraud questions were incorporated into the British Crime Survey in 2005 and the results should give us more information on the number of victims and the types of fraud that are being committed.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials failed security checks subsequent to their first day of employment in the Directorate in each year since 1997.

John Reid: It is not possible to provide this information in the form requested.

Intercept Evidence

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government expects to conclude its review of the use of intercept evidence in court; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, told the House on 11 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1312, further Home Office-led work on possible legal models for evidential use of intercept will report to Ministers in November.

John Lennon Airport

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is a permanent police presence at John Lennon International Airport, Liverpool.

Tony McNulty: John Lennon International Airport is not designated for policing purposes under the Aviation Security Act 1982. There is therefore no statutory requirement for the Chief Constable of Merseyside police to provide a permanent police presence. The level and nature of the policing resource at the airport is at the discretion of the Chief Constable.

Juvenile Detainees

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of vulnerable and at-risk children and young adults in  (a) young offender institutions,  (b) secure training centres and  (c) local authority secure units.

Gerry Sutcliffe: An initial assessment of vulnerability of under-18 offenders is carried out, before sentence, by the youth offending team . Figures provided by the Youth Justice Board show that during the period April 2004 to March 2005 the number of young people who were assessed as vulnerable in this way and subsequently placed in a young offender institution was 3,370. All young people placed in a secure training centre or a secure children's home are considered vulnerable, either on account of their age or because of other risk factors.
	Vulnerability is a concept which embraces a wide range of possible factors, including physical and mental health and other special needs. Young people assessed as vulnerable by the youth offending team are not all at high risk. Also, the degree of vulnerability may change in the course of their period in custody. The youth offending team's assessment is therefore only a starting point. While the most vulnerable young people are accommodated in establishments with high staff-to-trainee ratios, safeguarding arrangements are in place in all establishments.
	There is no formal definition of vulnerability for adult offenders and consequently no estimate has been made of young adults falling within this category. However, there are systems in place to identify and assist vulnerable adult offenders in custody.

Local Authority Secure Units

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where each local authority secure unit is located; and how many places are available in each.

Parmjit Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
	There are currently 21 secure children's homes, 19 of which are provided by local authorities, operating in England and one in Wales. The location and number of places available in each of these homes as at 31 March 2005 is as shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Places approved at 31 March 2005 by individual secure children's home—England and Wales 
			  Name of secure children's home  Location  Number of places approved 
			 Beechfield West Sussex 5 
			 St. Catherines / Laboure House St. Helens 15 
			 Atkinson Unit Devon 15 
			 Swanwick Lodge Hampshire 15 
			 Clare Lodge / Salters Peterborough 15 
			 Gladstone House / Dyson Hall Liverpool 20 
			 Leverton Hall Essex 15 
			 Lansdowne SU East Sussex — 
			 Aldine House Sheffield 10 
			 Lincolnshire SU Lincolnshire 10 
			 Watling House Staffordshire 10 
			 Orchard Lodge Southwark 25 
			 Redbank St. Helens 30 
			 Sutton Place SC Kingston-upon-Hull 10 
			 Barton Moss SCC Salford 20 
			 Kyloe House Northumberland 10 
			 Clayfields House Nottinghamshire 20 
			 Tiffield St. John's Northamptonshire 15 
			 Vinney Green SU South Gloucestershire 25 
			 Aycliffe Centre County Durham 45 
			 East Moor SU Leeds 35 
			 Neath Hillside Neath Port Talbot 20 
			  Notes: 1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Numbers between 1 and 4 are shown as a dash. 3. Redbank includes three units: Newton House, Vardy House and Willows House. 4. At March 2005 all homes were LA managed apart from St. Catherines which was managed by a voluntary provider. 5. Orchard Lodge transferred to an independent provider in March 2006. 6. The figures are from the 2004-05 DfES annual survey of secure children's homes (SA1).

M56

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have been caught speeding in the roadworks on the slip road of junction seven of the M56 since 2001; and what total amount of fines they have paid.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on speeding fines paid in respect of offences at specific locations is not held centrally.

Mentally Ill Prisoners

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are taken by the Prison Service to liaise with mental health authorities to ensure continuity of care and post-release treatment for former prisoners with mental illnesses.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Offenders with identified mental health problems are subject to the Care Programme Approach (CPA) during their stay in prison and on release. CPA enables the planning of treatment and continuity of mental health care for the individual. It is supported in prisons through NHS mental health teams, comprising over 360 staff in England. This means that on release from prison offenders needing CPA should have a care plan and, pre-release, the prison mental health in-reach team inform and share information with the individual's local GP.
	For those prisoners with identified severe and enduring mental illness, the prison will also contact the individuate community mental health team at the pre-release stage.
	The Offender Mental Health Care Pathway (DH, 2005) sets out best practice for commissioners and providers of mental health services for those in the criminal justice system. It is available on the Department of Health's website at: http://www. dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/10/22/32/04102232.pdf

Motoring Offences

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the five most common driving offences were for which  (a) men and  (b) women were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted in each constituency in England in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information required is not available centrally at constituency level.

Murderers

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted murderers have been sentenced since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Section 269 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which relates to the determination of a minimum term in relation to mandatory life sentences came into force on 18 December 2003, and figures reported to the Home Office show that 371 persons were sentenced for murder between that date and 31 December 2004, the latest date for which sentencing information is currently available.
	Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile such figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
	We have started a programme of work in the Home Office looking at the quality of existing data on court sentencing and how this might be improved.

Operation Pentameter

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value was of assets seized under Operation Pentameter.

Vernon Coaker: At present it is not possible to provide total values, since operations are still ongoing. The confirmed cash seized to date totals around £200,000.

Overseas HGVs

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers of heavy goods vehicles from overseas have  (a) committed and  (b) been prosecuted for traffic offences on British roads in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information is not collected centrally on offending drivers of foreign registered vehicles who breach road traffic regulations.

Partnership Working

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to foster partnership working.

Tony McNulty: Partnership working is central to the delivery of Home Office business. The National Community Safety Plan provides a clear statement of community safety priorities for local partners. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) are well established as the primary local delivery vehicle for community safety work. Earlier this year, the Government published a review of CDRPs, with the aim of further improving their effectiveness and strengthening their accountability to the communities they serve. Partnership working is also at the heart of neighbourhood policing. As part of the neighbourhood policing initiative the police will work with local partners and communities to tackle local priority issues. At the national level, the Home Office is working with stakeholders to ensure that neighbourhood policing is integrated into the wider community safety agenda.
	The National Offender Management Service is giving high priority to fostering partnership working as part of its work to reduce re-offending, including through the Civic Society, Corporate and Faith, Community and Voluntary Sector Alliances.
	Working with a range of external partners is vital for delivery of 'Integration Matters', our strategy for refugee integration. We recognise that statutory and voluntary sector organisations are best placed to help us to remove the barriers that can prevent refugees from integrating into their new communities. Partnership working is also essential for the National Refugee Integration Forum (NRIF). This body brings together 32 individuals with a range of experiences and perspectives in delivering refugee integration, and is tasked to review our work and ensure that we are delivering on the action plan set out in the strategy.

Placements

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many placements are provided for vulnerable and at risk children and young adults by the  (a) private and  (b) public sector.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Justice Board commissions 2,844 places for boys in 13 young offender institutions and 75 places for girls in four special units. It also commissions 274 places in secure training centres and 235 in secure children's homes. Younger and more vulnerable sentenced young people and those subject to court-ordered secure remands are placed into secure training centres or secure children's homes. All of the secure training centre places are provided by the private sector and all but one of the secure children's homes are in the public sector. Eleven of the 13 young offender institutions for boys and all four special units for girls are in the public sector. There are two privately run young offender institutions.
	Although the most vulnerable young people are placed in secure training centres or secure children's homes, all establishments are able to accommodate young people who have some degree of vulnerability. There are safeguarding arrangements in place at all establishments for children and young people.
	There is no formal definition of vulnerability for adult offenders but prisoners may be in need of support or protection for a number of reasons. Such prisoners are managed and supported in a range of ways including being located in vulnerable prisoner units, in units or establishments dealing with prisoners convicted of certain offences such as sexual offences, segregated for their own protection or transferred to another establishment where they are not known. The management of vulnerable prisoners is a progressive process and they are not necessarily held in designated accommodation.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio of police to public was in  (a) Southend and  (b) each police force in (i) 1979, (ii) 1983, (iii) 1987, (iv) 1992, (v) each year from 1993 to 2004 and (vi) the last period for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 22 May 2006
	The information that is available for the ratio of police to 100,000 population for each police force area is provided in the table.
	Information on basic command units has only been collected since 2003. In March 2003, Southend had 170 (full-time equivalent) officers per 100,000 population. This figure increased to 175 in March 2004 and 179 in March 2005.
	Information on the number of police officers to population was published in the annual report of HM chief inspector of constabulary prior to 1998, but this information was based on the authorised establishment of each police force rather than its total strength and was presented as the ratio of population to each police officer. Therefore it is not possible to provide data for earlier years as it is not directly comparable with the Home Office calculations from 1998 onwards.
	
		
			  Police officer strength( 1)  per 100,000 population( 2) , by police force area( 3)  in each year from 1998 to 2005 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			  Police force area  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 202.8 202.9 197.1 197.2 204.8 213.0 229.3 225.3 
			 Bedfordshire 196.5 188.5 184.7 184.2 188.9 197.5 210.1 214.6 
			 Cambridgeshire 183.6 178.9 171.8 178.8 186.5 195.9 197.2 194.3 
			 Cheshire 208.4 210.8 204.3 203.8 209.2 217.2 223.6 222.9 
			 Cleveland 266.0 254.7 252.3 253.0 262.5 294.1 313.6 304.5 
			 Cumbria 237.2 228.8 219.9 213.0 224.0 236.6 254.0 257.3 
			 Derbyshire 184.2 182.2 183.2 187.1 189.0 210.1 216.5 213.3 
			 Devon and Cornwall 192.0 186.1 182.3 186.9 192.4 203.6 208.2 212.3 
			 Dorset 192.1 186.0 188.9 195.5 197.8 205.1 208.7 210.9 
			 Durham 249.1 257.7 256.3 262.8 266.0 281.0 288.2 293.4 
			 Essex 193.4 189.8 183.0 178.5 180.8 186.1 192.3 198.2 
			 Gloucestershire 198.4 197.4 199.9 208.7 209.4 218.9 228.8 230.1 
			 Greater Manchester 269.8 264.8 263.6 268.1 279.1 297.7 322.7 320.8 
			 Hampshire 199.1 197.1 193.1 192.9 194.8 208.5 211.2 211.6 
			 Hertfordshire 201.5 197.8 201.1 184.3 173.7 191.0 204.3 206.0 
			 Humberside 227.9 223.2 218.8 217.5 233.6 244.3 256.3 255.4 
			 Kent 208.7 204.4 203.5 209.1 209.9 220.6 227.9 226.9 
			 Lancashire 228.6 227.7 222.8 228.3 231.1 238.8 251.7 250.8 
			 Leicestershire 213.8 214.5 214.6 217.6 223.7 232.2 246.4 246.1 
			 Lincolnshire 193.4 184.0 178.9 191.3 188.9 190.8 188.6 185.5 
			 London, City of * * * * * * * * 
			 Merseyside 296.8 297.9 289.8 290.8 293.9 302.0 303.3 318.0 
			 Metropolitan Police 355.6 352.4 341.0 351.1 365.9 404.0 420.0 432.5 
			 Norfolk 184.0 176.4 174.8 178.3 182.6 189.1 189.8 191.7 
			 Northamptonshire 193.4 186.4 181.4 186.3 194.0 193.8 197.6 200.5 
			 Northumbria 262.7 268.5 265.7 271.9 277.8 290.3 293.9 293.6 
			 North Yorkshire 186.1 181.2 172.9 174.6 188.0 193.2 203.1 205.5 
			 Nottinghamshire 225.1 215.5 213.7 214.2 225.9 238.8 245.0 245.0 
			 South Yorkshire 243.9 242.8 242.5 245.4 245.8 252.2 261.0 259.8 
			 Staffordshire 217.1 211.0 204.4 200.7 201.3 212.3 218.2 220.1 
			 Suffolk 179.2 178.5 170.7 167.9 176.9 187.9 195.6 195.1 
			 Surrey 207.1 211.9 226.9 191.6 184.3 182.4 183.2 184.0 
			 Sussex 203.5 191.4 188.3 188.5 190.0 203.1 206.0 205.4 
			 Thames Valley 182.8 179.7 178.2 175.0 176.8 186.3 195.4 198.3 
			 Warwickshire 184.6 180.3 177.5 182.4 189.9 197.5 197.2 194.8 
			 West Mercia 179.8 179.8 166.0 171.0 176.0 195.6 202.5 202.8 
			 West Midlands 270.8 278.3 273.7 282.6 293.3 306.6 310.9 316.2 
			 West Yorkshire 244.4 236.1 228.2 227.6 230.5 242.1 254.3 270.6 
			 Wiltshire 194.9 192.0 184.6 183.6 188.7 190.4 198.5 197.5 
			 Dyfed Powys 210.3 214.8 216.9 219.4 234.5 236.8 236.1 237.1 
			 Gwent 221.6 223.9 226.8 229.0 239.2 243.9 248.3 259.0 
			 North Wales 212.9 212.0 213.4 219.5 228.1 234.1 243.2 249.8 
			 South Wales 242.3 241.2 236.1 249.6 258.7 272.7 275.5 273.4 
			 Total 43 forces 239.9 237.2 232.6 234.0 240.4 254.4 263.8 267.2 
			 (1) The table contains calculations based on full-time equivalent figures for police officers which have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Due to rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of constituent items in these and similar tables. The police officer strength figures used to calculate the number of police officers per 100,000 population for the years 1998 to 2002 excludes those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Figures from 2003 includes those police officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore figures prior to 2003 are not comparable with figures for 2003 onwards. (2) Officers per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan police are combined. (3) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces. Therefore police to population ratios for these forces are not directly comparable for each of the years provided in the table.

Police

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the cross-government working group examining the transitional and ongoing financial arrangements for restructured police forces has met since January.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The finance working group met on 12 January, 10 February and 27 April.

Police

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in determining the changes required to the police precept following the creation of a single strategic force for Wales.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	There are no current plans to proceed with the enforced mergers of the four Welsh forces.

Police

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who represents the Welsh Assembly on the cross-government working group which is examining the transitional and ongoing financial arrangements for restructured police forces.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	The head of local government finance at the Welsh Assembly Government represents the Welsh Assembly Government on the police restructuring finance working group.

Police

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much central funding has been given to the Shropshire constabulary since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Grant is provided to the West Mercia police authority as a whole. Shropshire is one of five administrative policing divisions within the West Mercia police area. It is for the police authority and chief officer to deploy resources in line with local policing plans. I am informed by the chief constable that a significant proportion of the force budget is deployed on a force-wide basis and is not identifiable to individual areas.

Police

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the requirement to form specialist anti-terror units within Devon and Cornwall constabulary continues to apply following recent restructuring decisions.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 July 2006
	The chief constable is responsible for operational policing matters in Devon and Cornwall constabulary. No requirement to form specialist anti-terrorist units within Devon and Cornwall constabulary was identified prior to or following the recent police restructuring decisions.

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the chief constable and acting chief constable of Cumbria and Lancashire and the chairs of their respective police authorities to discuss his proposals for merger of the forces.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 July 2006
	I have met the chief constable and acting chief constable of Cumbria and Lancashire constabularies and representatives of their police authorities to discuss the proposed merger of the two forces on a number of occasions, most recently on 10 July.

Police

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety in his Department plans to meet in connection with the police mergers in Wales over the next three months; and what the dates are of those meetings which have been arranged.

Tony McNulty: Over the last two months I have held meetings and discussions with the four chief constables of Welsh forces, the four chairs of Welsh police authorities, the Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration, Edwina Hart AM, members of the Welsh Assembly's Social, Justice and Regeneration Committee, my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Wales and his Minister my hon. Friend the member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire the Welsh Group of Labour MPs, North Wales Labour MPs and the Welsh Local Government Association. I will hold further meetings as appropriate but no dates have yet been fixed.

Police

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has  (a) to reduce the requirement on police officers to fill in forms and carry out other administrative tasks and  (b) to establish increased clerical support for such tasks.

Tony McNulty: We have already made good progress on reducing the bureaucratic burdens on police officers by cutting nearly 9,000 unnecessary forms; civilianising posts; rolling out the penalty notice for disorder scheme; and ensuring that forces have the best scientific and technological support like video identity parades and electronic fingerprinting.
	The Government introduced a measure in 2003 to record the amount of time that police officers spend on frontline duties in order to help to maximise the time spent on their core roles of preventing and reducing crime. More police officer time was spent on front line duties in 2004-05 (64.1 per cent.) than in 2003-04 (63.6 per cent.) and we are determined to see this improvement continue, with police authorities setting robust targets for improvement.
	The Home Office expects that the police service can increase this to a national average of around 72 per cent. in 2008. This will be a gain in time on frontline duties equivalent to an extra 12,000 police officers. To support this, police staff numbers have grown substantially over the last few years. In September 2005 there were 71,967 police staff, an increase of 18,956 (nearly 36 per cent.) since 1997.
	
		
			  Percentage of population in prison establishments( 1)  in England and Wales from a minority ethnic group( 2)  by establishment 
			  Prison Establishment  30 June 2005  31 May 2006 
			 Acklington 4 5 
			 Albany 10 13 
			 Altcourse 6 7 
			 Ashfield 11 16 
			 Ashwell 26 33 
			 Askham Grange 21 18 
			 Aylesbury 44 48 
			 Bedford 31 40 
			 Belmarsh 45 46 
			 Birmingham 35 37 
			 Blakenhurst 25 23 
			 Blantyre House 27 29 
			 Blundeston 44 43 
			 Brinsford 31 35 
			 Bristol 21 20 
			 Brixton 54 55 
			 Brockhill 25 17 
			 Bronzfield 34 36 
			 Buckley Hall 14 22 
			 Bullingdon 29 32 
			 Bullwood Hall 29 34 
			 Camp Hill 34 35 
			 Canterbury 21 37 
			 Cardiff 12 13 
			 Castington 3 7 
			 Channings Wood 10 12 
			 Chelmsford 25 28 
			 Coldingly 45 43 
			 Cookham Wood 35 37 
			 Dartmoor 10 10 
			 Deerbolt 11 14 
			 Doncaster 16 19 
			 Dorchester 12 16 
			 Dovegate 32 33 
			 Dover 85 83 
			 Downview 50 57 
			 Drake Hall 33 34 
			 Durham 5 8 
			 East Sutton Park 47 49 
			 EastwoodPark 14 11 
			 Elmley 18 19 
			 Erlestoke 18 21 
			 Everthorpe 14 17 
			 Exeter 5 6 
			 Featherstone 35 29 
			 Feltham 59 65 
			 Ford 37 27 
			 Forest Bank 12 16 
			 Foston Hall 13 10 
			 Frankland 12 14 
			 Full Sutton 23 24 
			 Garth 22 17 
			 Gartree 21 22 
			 Glen Parva 24 27 
			 Gloucester 13 17 
			 Grendon (Spring Hill) 28 26 
			 Guys Marsh 19 24 
			 Haslar 78 81 
			 Haverigg 12 12 
			 Hewell Grange 41 32 
			 Highdown 43 34 
			 Highpoint North 48 38 
			 Highpoint South 45 46 
			 Hindley 16 14 
			 HollesleyBay 34 30 
			 Holloway 43 41 
			 Holme House 6 10 
			 Hull 8 8 
			 Huntercombe 42 42 
			 Kingston (Portsmouth) 16 18 
			 Kirkham 16 9 
			 Kirklevington 13 16 
			 Lancaster 4 5 
			 Lancaster Farms 11 11 
			 Latchmere House 37 38 
			 Leeds 19 21 
			 Leicester 19 29 
			 Lewes 12 15 
			 Leyhill 17 16 
			 Lincoln 6 11 
			 Lindholme 27 29 
			 Littlehey 16 20 
			 Liverpool 10 13 
			 LongLartin 31 37 
			 Low Newton 9 7 
			 Lowdham Grange 28 35 
			 Maidstone 35 35 
			 Manchester 22 25 
			 Moorland 22 22 
			 Moorland Open 18 23 
			 Morton Hall 66 56 
			 Mount 54 57 
			 New Hall 9 9 
			 North Sea Camp 18 17 
			 Northallerton 11 11 
			 Norwich 18 18 
			 Nottingham 23 20 
			 Onley 28 31 
			 Pare 8 9 
			 Parkhurst 32 31 
			 Pentonville 54 49 
			 Peterborough 17 22 
			 Portland 41 37 
			 Preston 12 10 
			 Ranby 16 23 
			 Reading 20 25 
			 Risley 13 13 
			 Rochester 42 43 
			 Rye Hill 35 39 
			 Send 39 33 
			 Shepton Mallet 11 10 
			 Shrewsbury 17 19 
			 Stafford 18 20 
			 Standford Hill 35 43 
			 Stocken 22 24 
			 Stoke Heath 21 20 
			 Styal 10 11 
			 Sudbury 26 28 
			 Swaleside 40 38 
			 Swansea 5 5 
			 Swinfen Hall 31 32 
			 Thorn Cross 19 22 
			 Usk (Frescoed) 8 6 
			 Verne 43 53 
			 Wakefield 14 15 
			 Wandsworth 42 42 
			 Warren Hill 32 35 
			 Wayland 32 33 
			 Wealstun 19 25 
			 Weare 40 — 
			 Wellingborough 32 41 
			 Werrington 23 26 
			 Wetherby 18 16 
			 Whatton 10 14 
			 Whitemoor 28 28 
			 Winchester 12 16 
			 Wolds 13 14 
			 Woodhill 27 31 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 60 57 
			 Wymott 10 8 
			 Total 25 26 
			 (1) Percentages are calculated as proportion of prisoners recorded as BME against total prisoners. (2) Ethnicity is recorded on the basis of voluntary self-declaration

Police

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the number of tourists to an area is considered in the annual grant calculation for police constabularies.

Tony McNulty: No. The police funding formula was reviewed in 2005. It was concluded that data used in the tourism indicator were out of date. The use of more recent information was considered but this was unsatisfactory for inclusion in the new police formula.
	Representatives from ACPO and the APA and the wider policing community were involved in the review. A full consultation on options for change took place last summer. All representations received were fully taken into account.
	Overall, Dorset has benefited from the revised formula changes and their position was protected further by the application of a virtually flat rate grant increase for all police authorities for 2006-07.

Police

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the status is of the proposed merger between the Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 17 July 2006
	As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear on 12 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1383, the merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police forces will not be taking place.

Police

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the cost of amalgamating Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities; and how much will be provided by his Department in the form of Pathfinder support to cover the costs of amalgamation.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 4 July 2006
	Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities have withdrawn their agreement to voluntary amalgamation.

Police

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the expected harmonisation of council tax precepts played in the Government's decision not to proceed with police force mergers.

Tony McNulty: The proposed voluntary merger between Cumbria and Lancashire constabularies could not go ahead because it was not possible to resolve all outstanding issues, including harmonisation of the council tax precept, to the satisfaction of the two authorities concerned. They therefore do not wish to proceed with their voluntary merger.
	With regard to other mergers, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, made it clear on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1059, that he did not wish to proceed with enforced mergers.

Police

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in  (a) Humberside,  (b) North Yorkshire,  (c) South Yorkshire and  (d) West Yorkshire police authority area were involved in preparation work for the merger of the forces; how many hours of work were devoted to that work; how much the exercise cost; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: This is a matter for the police forces and police authorities concerned and the information is not held centrally.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase funding to police constabularies for more  (a) police officers and  (b) community support officers on the beat.

Tony McNulty: In November last year we announced a two-year funding settlement for police authorities in England and Wales. The increase in 2006-07 enabled a broadly flat-rate increase of 3.1 per cent. for each police authority. A provisional grant increase of 3.6 per cent. was announced for 2007-08. The utilisation of all available resources is a matter for the police authorities and chief officers of police.
	We are also putting substantial resources into neighbourhood policing and police community support officers (PCSOs). With the £91 million from the Chancellor in the Budget, we are expecting to allocate over £220 million to police authorities this financial year to increase PCSO numbers to 16,000 by April 2007.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent already in relation to the proposed mergers between Lancashire and Cumbria police constabularies.

Tony McNulty: The costs incurred by Lancashire and Cumbria police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
	With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies.

Police

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent in relation to the proposed merger between the Yorkshire police forces.

Tony McNulty: The costs incurred by Yorkshire and Humberside police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
	With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of the Yorkshire and Humberside police forces.

Police

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government have spent on the planned merger of the four Welsh police forces; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The costs incurred by the Welsh police forces and police authorities are a matter for the bodies concerned and the information is not held centrally.
	With regard to Home Office costs, it is not possible to identify separately those relating specifically to the proposed merger of the Welsh police forces.

Police

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department allocated for the police force restructuring consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The consultation exercise on police force mergers was part of routine Home Office business and no dedicated funds were set aside for this purpose.

Police

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1046W, on the police, what the  (a) term and  (b) negotiated price over the term is of each contract with the consultants employed by his Department to advise on police force amalgamations.

Tony McNulty: The term of work for consultants employed to work on police force restructuring was 15 working days (16 January to 6 February). However, the term of work for some consultants exceeded this due to additional days worked. The negotiated price for the consultants varied from firm to firm and the level and specialism of personal within the firm that was employed.

Police

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether funding for the proposed single Welsh police force will be equivalent to the combined total of the funding for the four Welsh police constabularies in 2006-07.

Tony McNulty: There are no current plans to proceed with the enforced mergers of the four Welsh forces.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the use of  (a) anaesthetic,  (b) malodorant and  (c) calmative gases by police and security services.

John Reid: The Home Office Scientific Development Branch has carried out desk-based research into the area of calmatives, including anaesthetics, and malodorants. It concluded that neither calmatives nor malodorants currently meet the police requirements. Calmatives carry additional health risks compared to alternative options and malodorants do not appear to offer any tactical advantage over existing incapacitants available to the police. Further research will only be carried out on either of these areas if there are significant advances in the available technology.
	Further details of this research can be found in chapter 9 of Fourth Report of the Research Programme into Alternative Policing Approaches Towards the Management of Conflict. This report is available on the Northern Ireland Office website (www.nio.gov.uk).

Police

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) police civilian staff each division of Greater Manchester police has had in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is set out in the following table for 2003, 2004 and 2005. Comparable data on police officers and police civilian staff by BCU have only been available since 2003.
	The year on year figures for Greater Manchester basic command units are not comparable because of changes to deployment in respect of Manchester airport and the centralisation of dog handlers in Greater Manchester police in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Deployment to basic command units and other specialist units is an operational matter for the chief constable.

Police

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received in relation to police numbers in Greater Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: No specific representations have been received in relation to police numbers in Greater Manchester.

Prison Service

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults in penal institutions there were for  (a) adults,  (b) children and young people in each of the last 20 years, broken down into (i) prisoner on prisoner, (ii) staff on prisoner, (iii) prisoner on staff; and what the ratio was of total assaults to the relevant prisoner population in each year.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested can be provided reliably for only part of the period requested.
	
		
			  Number of assaults 
			   Prisoner on prisoner  Prisoner on officer 
			  Aged 21 years and over   
			 1997 1,308 722 
			 1998 2,240 1,093 
			 1999 3,310 1,165 
			 2000 3,578 1,112 
			 2001 3,754 1,341 
			 2002 4,386 1,442 
			 2003 5,052 1,482 
			 2004 5,557 1,631 
			 2005 6,203 1,870 
			
			  Aged under 21 years   
			 1997 925 285 
			 1998 1,957 475 
			 1999 3,789 634 
			 2000 6,254 774 
			 2001 7,224 838 
			 2002 7,184 847 
			 2003 6,549 785 
			 2004 6,532 839 
			 2005 9,074 1,082 
			  Notes: These figures are a subset of the total number of assaults recorded in that they contain identified assailants. The recording of assaults on prisoners by staff has been unsynchronised on this system and it is not possible to produce figures that can be substantiated. 
		
	
	
		
			  Rates of assault per 1000 
			   Prisoner on Prisoner  Prisoner on officer 
			  Aged 21 years and over   
			 1998 39 19 
			 1999 58 20 
			 2000 62 19 
			 2001 63 23 
			 2002 69 23 
			 2003 77 23 
			 2004 83 24 
			 2005 91 27 
			
			  Aged under 21 years   
			 1998 255 62 
			 1999 489 82 
			 2000 845 105 
			 2001 979 114 
			 2002 960 113 
			 2003 893 107 
			 2004 839 108 
			 2005 1,155 138 
			  Notes: Rates are produced for only the more recent accurate assault totals.

Prisons

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of  (a) prisoners,  (b) prison officers and  (c) prison governors were from non-white ethnic groups in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) prison and (ii) ethnic group; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the percentage of minority ethnic prisoners and prison officer grades and operational managers (for public sector prison establishments) is provided in the following table. Information on the ethnic breakdown from prisoners prior to June 2005 is not available on a comparable basis because the new ethnic categories based on the 2001 Census were introduced into the prison IT system in 2003 and information by these new categories was available from the middle of 2005.
	Information on the ethnic breakdown of staffing in the contracted estate is not routinely collected and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The data on staffing by public sector prison establishment, which are obtained from the Prison Service Personnel Corporate Database, are not shown separately for prison officers and operational managers because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.
	
		
			   Number of visitors arrested  Number of prisoners found guilty at adjudication of smuggling rugs through visits 
			 1998-99 115 (1) 
			 1999-2000 118 (1) 
			 2000-01 76 (1) 
			 2001-02 90 167 
			 2002-03 49 122 
			 2003-04 67 92 
			 2004-05 48 114 
			 2005-06 44 120 
			 (1) Figures not available

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released on temporary licence from each prison in the London area in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the annual number of releases on temporary licence from prison establishments in England and Wales between 1994 and 2004 is published in table 10.6 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004. The data, which are obtained from the prison IT system, are not shown separately by month and establishment because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	Release on temporary licence (ROTL) enables prisoners to participate in precisely defined and specific activities, which cannot be provided in prison, that directly contribute to their resettlement into the community and their development of a purposeful, law-abiding life.
	All prisoners are rigorously risk assessed before release on temporary licence and prisoners are not released if there are concerns for public safety.
	Full details of the eligibility criteria are set out in Prison Service Order 6300 Release on Temporary Licence which is available on the HM Prison Service website.

Prisons

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 819W, on prisons, what categories of offences had been committed by each of the 33 foreign national prisoners who absconded from Ford Prison in 2006; what the term of the prison sentence was of each; whether the prisoner was  (a) being considered for enforcement proceedings by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate,  (b) going to be deported and  (c) remains at large in each case; and on what date each escaped.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2006,  Official Report, column 1056W, on prisons, what estimate he has made of the cost of answering the question.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Just over 3,100 prisoners are currently being held in open prisons. To examine each prisoner's record would result in a resource cost well in excess of the 600 limit that Government Departments are advised is considered disproportionate.

Prisons

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in prison  (a) have mental health problems,  (b) are veterans and  (c) are veterans with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The prevalence of mental health problems among prisoners is considerably higher than for the general population. The most reliable evidence comes from the 1997 ONS study of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners which found that 90 per cent. of prisoners have at least one significant mental health problem, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence (Singleton et al, 1998).
	Data from a Home Office survey of over 2,000 prisoners nearing release found that 5.6 per cent. were veterans of the armed forces (cited in Dandeker et al, 2003). Of these 85 per cent. had been in the Army, four per cent. in the RAF, and 11 per cent. in the Navy. However, there are no estimates available of the proportion of veterans in custody who have mental health problems.
	References:
	Singleton, N., Meltzer, R., Gatward, R. with Coid. J., Deasy, D (1998).
	Psychiatric morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales.
	Office for National Statistics.
	Dandeker, C., Wessely, S., Iverson, A. and Ross, J. (2003).
	Improving the Delivery of Cross Departmental Support and Services for Veterans.
	A joint report of The Department of War Studies and the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London (KCL). Available on line:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/Reports/ReportsForVeterans/ImprovingTheDeliveryOfCrossDepartmentalSupport AndServicesForVeterans.htm.

Prisons

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) rules,  (b) instructions and  (c) administrative practice are within the Prison Service governing the use of (i) handcuffs and (ii) other physical constraints on pregnant women attending maternity and other appointments in hospitals outside prison; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The policy on the use of mechanical restraints is contained in the Prison Service's national security framework. Any use of restraints is based upon a thorough security risk assessment of the individual prisoner and this includes pregnant women. Where a need to use restraints is identified, the general expectation is that the restraints will be removed upon arrival at the hospital and not re-applied until the prisoner is ready to be returned to prison.

Prisons

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of intensive treatment programmes for prisoners with moderate to severe drug misuse problems and related offending behaviour in the West Midlands.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Seven intensive drug treatment programmes for prisoners are delivered in the West Midlands area. Research shows that intensive drug treatment programmes can reduce re-offending by 10-15 per cent. below predicted levels, where effective aftercare arrangements are made.

Prisons

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the availability of class A drugs in prison establishments; and what action he is taking to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The best measure of drug misuse in prisons is provided by the random mandatory drug testing programme. The percentage positive rate for Class A drugs in 2005-06 was 4 per cent.
	A comprehensive series of measures is in place to reduce the availability of drugs, from which establishments draw, based on local need.

Prisons

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for supplying illegal drugs in prisons in the West Midlands in each year since 1998.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Decisions to prosecute are taken by the Crown Prosecution Service and the number of prosecutions undertaken is not collated by NOMS. The number of visitors arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs and the number of prisoners found guilty at adjudication of offences involving drug smuggling through visits in prisons in the West Midlands is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			   Visitors arrested  Prisoners found guilty at adjudication of smuggling drugs through visits 
			 1998-99 115 (1) 
			 1999-2000 118 (1) 
			 2000-01 76 (1) 
			 2001-02 90 167 
			 2002-03 49 122 
			 2003-04 67 92 
			 2004-05 48 114 
			 2005-06 44 120 
			 (1) Figures not available.

Prisons

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2031W, on prisons, what estimate he has made of the cost of seeking the information necessary to answer the question, broken down by main cost area.

Gerry Sutcliffe: To obtain the information requested, each recaptured prisoner's file would have to be examined by the prison now holding them and enquiries made with both the police and the courts to check whether the prisoner is subject to further proceedings. The estimated resource cost of such enquiries would be in excess of the 600 limit recommended by HM Treasury.

Prisons

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have  (a) permanent and  (b) temporary accommodation providing facilities for visitors.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Records held centrally on facilities for visitors do not differentiate between permanent and temporary accommodation. In excess of 130 establishments have access to recognised facilities for visitors. It is recognised that these vary considerably in the amenities and the services which they are able to provide.

Prisons

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the provision of facilities for visitors to HM prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Prison Service policy states that all visits should take place in the most humane conditions possible, with regard to the physical environment in which visits take place as well as the treatment of visitors.
	Responsibility for the provision of facilities to prisoners is devolved to governing Governors. Local practice in the range of facilities and services offered to visitors varies from one prison to another depending on the location of the prison, the needs of the visitor and security considerations. They include visitors' centres, play areas in visitors' centres and visits halls, family and children visits, and family contact workers.

Prisons

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times illegal drugs have been found in each prison in London in each of the past five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not hold centrally data on drugs' finds broken down by type of drug.

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of suspected fraud have been investigated in  (a) each London prison and  (b) the London area office of the prison service in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table relates to formal investigations commissioned in the London area (including by London area office), due to suspected fraud, in each of the past five financial years.
	
		
			  Investigations commissioned in the London area 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  Total 
			 Brixton 1 34 
			 Feltham 3 3 2 2 2 12 
			 Holloway 1 3 1  1 6 
			 L/House 1 1 
			 Pentonville 1 6  2  9 
			 Wandsworth  4 3 1  8 
			 W/Scrubs  3 4 2  9 
			 Area office 1   2  3 
			 Total 8 22 10 9 3 52

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of managed moves within the Prison Service for the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 were approved by  (a) the Director of Operations,  (b) the Deputy Director General,  (c) the Director General and  (d) by other officials.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The official who approves a managed move within the Prison Service is not recorded centrally and information could be collected only at disproportionate cost. The level at which such moves are approved is set out in a Prison Service Order (number 8110).

Prisons

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Prison Service Fraud Response Plan was last updated; and if he will place a copy of the plan in the Library.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Fraud Response Plan forms part of the Prison Service Anti-Fraud Strategy, which was last updated in September 2004 and published as a Prison Service Order (PSO) on 8 October 2004. The Prison Service Audit Committee reviews the anti-fraud strategy annually.
	The Libraries of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords receive copies of PSOs shortly after their publication.

Prisons

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken in response to the latest report from HM chief inspector of prisons into conditions at HM Prison Lincoln.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service has produced an action plan, which responds to each recommendation in Her Majesty's chief inspectorate of prison's report. The action plan details whether the Prison Service accepts the recommendation, what will be done to implement it, the person or department responsible and a timescale. This action plan will be updated approximately 12 months after the report's publication date of 15 February 2006.

Probation (Hertfordshire)

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expenditure on staffing in the Hertfordshire probation area in 2004-05 was.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total salary costs recorded in the accounts of Hertfordshire Probation Board for 2004-05, are 6,194,000, including employer's national insurance and pension contributions.

Reading Training for Work Programme

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have come into contact with the Reading Training for Work Programme in each year since 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institute Reading do not keep separate records of the number of young offenders who have come into contact with the National Grid Young Offender Programme.

Ritual Abuse

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of ritual abuse have  (a) been reported and  (b) resulted in (i) arrests and (ii) charges in each London borough in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally. Ritual abuse cannot be separately identified from offences against the person in either the recorded crime statistics or the court proceedings statistics.

Robberies/Burglaries (London)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) robberies and  (b) burglaries were reported in each London borough in each of the last five years; and how many resulted in a conviction.

Tony McNulty: Data collected centrally do not track individual offences to conclusion. Recorded offences are counted on the basis of crimes committed and are available by financial year for each London borough. Convictions are counted on the basis of offenders and are available by calendar year for each London court.
	The available information is given in the tables.
	
		
			  Offences recorded by the Metropolitan Police for each Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership 
			   Burglary 
			   2001-02 ( 1) 2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,220 2,012 2,240 2,175 1,921 
			 Barnet 3,954 4,039 3,978 4,045 4,363 
			 Bexley 2,394 2,341 2,226 1,986 2,366 
			 Brent 4,099 3,859 4,062 3,987 3,904 
			 Bromley 3,580 3,596 3,472 3,776 3,926 
			 Camden 5,857 5,884 4,843 4,171 4,108 
			 City of Westminster 5,646 5,264 4,296 4,497 4,158 
			 Croydon 4,131 4,115 3,769 3,230 3,582 
			 Ealing 4,533 4,543 4,375 4,350 4,999 
			 Enfield 4,411 4,301 3,865 3,528 3,844 
			 Greenwich 2,794 2,986 3,080 2,970 3,209 
			 Hackney 4,287 4,807 4,327 3,897 3,547 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,789 3,089 2,827 3,023 3,052 
			 Haringey 4,803 4,356 4,115 4,084 3,841 
			 Harrow 2,623 2,736 2,626 2,178 2,446 
			 Havering 2,567 2,386 2,161 2,315 2,453 
			 Hillingdon 3,643 3,569 3,183 3,143 3,137 
			 Hounslow 3,192 3,374 3,450 2,969 2,982 
			 Islington 4,567 4,429 3,957 3,681 3,683 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 2,826 2,512 2,576 2,580 2,444 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,180 985 939 984 1,188 
			 Lambeth 6,974 5,694 4,980 4,150 3,884 
			 Lewisham 3,490 3,708 3,837 3,778 3,524 
			 Merton 1,967 1,930 2,034 1,764 1,796 
			 Newham 3,886 3,494 3,398 3,410 4,112 
			 Redbridge 2,899 2,974 2,990 3,058 3,282 
			 Richmond upon Thames 2,174 2,120 1,787 2,017 2,395 
			 Southwark 5,016 4,885 4,556 4,411 4,143 
			 Sutton 1,820 1,446 1,397 1,429 1,480 
			 Tower Hamlets 3,262 3,567 3,023 3,070 3,467 
			 Waltham Forest 4,012 3,812 3,284 3,144 3,131 
			 Wandsworth 4,352 4,547 3,664 3,616 3,108 
		
	
	
		
			   Robbery 
			   2001-02 ( 1) 2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 861 686 802 739 775 
			 Barnet 1,335 1,059 1,082 1,211 1,226 
			 Bexley 501 339 388 402 473 
			 Brent 2,359 1,795 1,807 2084 2,355 
			 Bromley 917 702 863 729 901 
			 Camden 2,439 1,765 1,334 1,315 1,260 
			 City of Westminster 2,763 1,752 1,437 1,505 1,577 
			 Croydon 2,095 1,888 1,771 1,496 1,845 
			 Ealing 2,264 1,823 1,473 1,565 2,012 
			 Enfield 1,292 1,072 1,211 1,143 1,454 
			 Greenwich 750 693 1,083 1,172 1,229 
			 Hackney 3,009 2,466 2,441 1,926 1,856 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,343 1,271 1,146 1,386 1,285 
			 Haringey 2,626 2,166 1,903 1,430 2,024 
			 Harrow 892 613 624 699 862 
			 Havering 549 479 512 442 459 
			 Hillingdon 645 588 512 593 876 
			 Hounslow 1,042 954 820 712 841 
			 Islington 1,659 1,664 1,397 1,244 1,412 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,189 673 794 792 906 
			 Kingston upon Thames 318 305 292 257 337 
			 Lambeth 6,465 4,017 3,298 3,021 2,998 
			 Lewisham 1,966 1,627 1,924 1,783 2,304 
			 Merton 634 684 584 459 625 
			 Newham 2,400 2,150 2,242 1,939 2,501 
			 Redbridge 1,221 1,096 1,188 1,241 1,329 
			 Richmond upon Thames 353 291 257 376 455 
			 Southwark 3,086 2,220 2,295 2,406 2,981 
			 Sutton 339 276 354 231 411 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,117 1,790 1,568 1,457 1,675 
			 Waltham Forest 2,154 1,791 1,655 1,796 2,392 
			 Wandsworth 1,948 1,788 1,574 1,475 1,668 
			 (1) Because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002 figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Scottish Criminal Records Office

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases in England and Wales fingerprint evidence has been challenged on the basis of the misidentifications made by the Scottish Criminal Records Office in the case of Shirley McKie and David Asbury.

Joan Ryan: We are unable to answer this question as the information requested is not recorded.

Sea-going Vessels (Thefts)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sea-going vessels were stolen from around the coast of the UK in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many were recovered.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not available centrally.

Security Industry

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what structure has been put in place for the renewal and re-evaluation of door supervisor licences.

John Reid: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will not be making any major changes to the SIA licence core competency specifications for the first round of licence renewal, which commences in April 2007 with the door supervisor sector.
	On first renewal of their licence, all door supervisors will have their criminality re-checked by the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that no inappropriate criminal activity has taken place since the issue of the initial licence. They will not be required to undergo refresher training or undertake a new qualification. The core competency specifications themselves will be reviewed in due course.

Security Industry

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for door supervisors' licences are waiting for  (a) approval and  (b) processing by the Security Industry Authority.

Vernon Coaker: On the 5 July, there were 8,845 licence applications from door supervisors in the SIA's processing system. There was also a total of 4,694 applications from all licensable sectors waiting to enter the processing system, but it is not possible to calculate how many of these were from door supervisors because they had not been opened.

Sentences

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average minimum sentence was, before being considered for parole, for people convicted of  (a) kidnapping,  (b) rape and  (c) sexual assault of children in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the average custodial sentence lengths for determinate sentences for these offences is contained in the table.
	Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, those sentenced to determinate sentences of four years or more are eligible for parole half way through their sentence. If parole is not granted then release occurs at the two-thirds point of the sentence (or at a subsequent parole review if earlier). Release, when it occurs, is on licence and subject to supervision up to the three-quarters point (or to the end of the sentence in the case of some sex offenders), and they are liable to recall if they breach any of the licence conditions. All offenders risk serving the rest of their sentence in custody if they commit another offence before the end of the original sentence.
	The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced new arrangements for the release on licence of determinate sentence prisoners. They apply only to offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. A new indeterminate public protection sentence was introduced. Those offenders judged to be dangerous, and who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, can be kept in prison until the parole board judges it is safe to release them. If they have committed less serious offences they may serve a determinate sentence followed by an extended period on licence after release of up to eight years for sexual offences and five years for violent offences.
	Unless considered dangerous, those sentenced to 12 months or more will be released on licence at the halfway point of their sentence. They will remain on licence, subject to a recall if they breach the conditions of their licence, for the entire remaining period of their sentence instead of to the three-quarter point as under the 1991 Act.
	
		
			  Average custodial sentence length imposed (excluding life) for kidnapping, rape and sexual assault of persons under 16, all courts, England and Wales, 2000-04 
			  Months 
			  Offence  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Kidnapping (1) 46.7 48.6 51.4 42.4 
			 Rape 83.2 81.1 83.7 86.4 84.4 
			 Sexual assault on person under 16 (1) (1) 28.5 28.5 28.7 
			 (1) Not shown separately as less than 100 persons sentenced to custody.  Source: RDS NOMS.

Sexual Offences

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average sentence was served for  (a) sexual assault,  (b) rape of a minor and  (c) rape in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Data on average time served, which are obtained from the Prison IT system, are not available separately for specific offences as accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	The information contained in the following table shows the average length of custodial sentence (excluding life) imposed by the courts.
	
		
			  Average length of custodial sentences (excluding life) for sexual assault, rape of a minor and rape  All courts England and Wales 2000-04 
			   Average sentence length (months) 
			  Offence  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Sexual Assault(1) 24.6 25.4 26.3 26.3 27.4 
			 Rape of a person under 16 87.0 88.3 88.2 91.3 93.9 
			 All Rape 83.2 81.1 83.7 86.4 84.4 
			 (1) Indecent assault prior to 2004.  Source:  RDS NOMS

Sexual Offences

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met representatives of the National Organisation for Rape Crisis and Sex Abuse Victims.

Vernon Coaker: The Rape Crisis Co-ordination Group is represented on the Stakeholder Advisory Group on Sexual Violence, which is chaired by Ministers from the Home Office and the Department of Health. The Group met for the first time on the 28 June 2006.

Statutory Charge Document (Vehicle Removal)

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on a revision to the Statutory Charge document on the Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We receive regular correspondence from a range of interested parties on various issues related to the charges. These include the interpretation and application of the charges, whether we intend to review them, the nature and timing of any review, suggestions for change and the contractual arrangements between removal operators and the police.

Statutory Charge Document (Vehicle Removal)

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timescale he has set for review of statutory fees relating to vehicle removal, storage and disposal; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We have recently informed the parties chiefly concerned of our intention to conduct a wide ranging review of the charges for vehicle removal, storage and disposal, and indicated that we would welcome initial views. In preparing proposals on which we will consult all the parties, we will take into account any such view, together with views expressed in previous discussions, correspondence and meetings. We have set no formal timescale for the work which will proceed as swiftly as resources permit.

Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of terrorist acts relating to the Irish Republican Movement between 1976 and 2000 in  (a) Great Britain and  (b) Northern Ireland.

Tony McNulty: The information requested on convictions is not held by the Home Office. However, the publication Statistics on the Operation of Prevention of Terrorism Legislation includes statistics in connection with Northern Irish terrorism. This publication is available on the Science, Research and Statistics part of the Home Office website for the period 1979 to 2000.

Terrorism

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) arrested,  (b) charged and  (c) convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 were from (i) Suffolk and (ii) the East of England.

Tony McNulty: The statistics on arrests, charges and convictions under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) are not broken down in the way requested. However, statistics compiled from police records show that between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2006, 997 people were arrested under TACT.
	Of those people, 154 were charged with offences under the Act and 79 of these were also charged with offences under other legislation. A further 175 individuals were charged under different legislation. A total of 25 people were convicted under TACT during this period.

Terrorism

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personal computers have been seized by each police service from suspects detained under the Terrorism Act 2003.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held by the Home Office.

Ticket Touting

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted for ticket touting in each of the last five years; and what the average sentence  (a) given and  (b) served was in each year.

Vernon Coaker: Data for the 2005-06 football season are currently being collated and will be published later this year. The following table shows the number of convictions and cautions for ticket touting offences in the previous four seasons. Information on sentences imposed following conviction is not available centrally.
	
		
			  Season  Convictions  Cautions 
			 2001-02 28 21 
			 2002-03 25 18 
			 2003-04 25 7 
			 2004-05 28 7

US Department of Justice

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings  (a) he and  (b) his officials have had with representatives of the United States' Department of Justice in the last 12 months.

John Reid: Since my appointment as Home Secretary on 5 May 2006,1 have not yet had an opportunity to meet the US Attorney-General.
	In the past 12 months, my predecessor had three meetings with the US Attorney-General (Department of Justice). He met the Attorney-General in the margins of the G8 conference in Sheffield in June 2005; during a visit to Washington in October 2005 and during the Trialogue with Australia in March 2006.
	My officials frequently meet Department of Justice officials in a variety of fora. A list of all these meetings could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Violent Crime

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1661W, on violent crime, how many violent crimes were recorded in 2004.

Tony McNulty: There were 1,175,363 violent crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2004. Data on recorded crime are not directly comparable with court proceedings data given in the previous answer.

Visa Charges

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has  (a) to increase visa charges in 2007-08 and  (b) to assess the potential impact of such an increase on the UK's income from tourism.

Kim Howells: Visa application fees are kept under constant review. UKvisas has no plans to increase its fees in the current financial year and will review fees for 2007-08 later in the year. No decisions have been taken on fee levels in 2007-08. UKvisas is mandated by HM Treasury to recoup costs through fees without burdening the UK taxpayer. The Government need to ensure it is charging a fair rate for its services, and that it continues to offer value to those that travel to the UK.

Vulnerable/At Risk Young People (Custody)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff were employed in the  (a) private and  (b) public sector in the care of vulnerable and at risk children and young adults in custody in each of the last 20 years as a percentage of the custody workforce.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 18 July 2006  Official Report, volume 449, Column 411W.

Zahid Mubarek

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of the inquiry into the death of Zahid Mubarek.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total budget allocated to the Inquiry was 4.2 million; taking into account all related costs borne directly by the Government, the total cost of the Inquiry was 5.2 million.

Zahid Mubarek

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he will take to implement the recommendations of the inquiry into the death of Zahid Mubarek.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by the Home Secretary on the publication of the report on 29 June 2006,  Official Report, column 19WS, to which was attached the Governments initial response to the report. In the statement the Government committed itself to providing a full response to the reports 88 recommendations within two months.